' 


UC-NRLF 


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History  of  the 
Telephone  and  Telegraph 

in 

Brazil 


1851 — 1921 


By 
VICTOR  M.  BERTHOLD 

of  the 
American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company 


NEW    YORK 

Nineteen  Twenty-two 


History  of  the 
Telephone  and  Telegraph 


m 


Brazil 


1851 — 1921 


By 
VICTOR  M.  BERTHOLD 

of  the 
American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company 


NEW    YORK 

Nineteen  Twenty-two 


i 


INDEX 

Page 
State  Telegraph: 

a)  Under  the  Empire,  1851.- 1889 .     ?||    .       .      ...  3 

b)  Under  the  Republic,  1889-1921      .       .       .       .  16 

Cable  Service      .       .       .       .     .  .       ,       ,       .       -.  31 

Wireless  Telegraph     .       .       .     ';•      .       .       .       .  37 

State  Telephone  .       .       .       .     ;  .       .       ...  44 

Private  Telephone  Service: 

a)  Decree  No.  7539  of  Nov.  15,  1879         .       .       ..  51 

b)  The  Continental  Telephone  Co.     .       .       .       .  52 

c)  The  Telephone  Company  of  Brazil        .       .       .  53 

d)  The  Brazilianische  Electricitats  Gesellschaft       .  59 

e)  The  Rio  de  Janeiro  Telephone  Co.        .       .       .  61 

f)  The  Rio  de  Jan.  Tramway  Light  &  Power  Co.    .  62 

g)  The  Braz.  Traction,  Light  &  Power  Co.       V  :     .  63 
h)  The  Rio  de  Janeiro  &  Sao  Paulo  Tel.  Co.     .       :  64 

General  Telephone  Development     .       .       .       .       .  68 

Appendix: 

I.  Stipulations  attached  to  Decree  No.  8065         .  71 

II.  Rules  governing  the  construction  of  interstate 

toll  lines   .       .       .       . "    .'      .       .       .       .  72 

III.  Concession'^ranted^byft^e  State  of  Sao  Paulo 

for  the  construction  'of 'telephone  lines        .       .  75 

IV.  Concesslbh;egrante<l'yy-- tne*.  State  of  Minas 
Geraes  for  intermunicipal  telephone  lines  .       .  81 

V.  International  Agreements: 

a)  Between  Brazil  and  Argentina       .       .       .  86 

b)  Between  Brazil  and  Uruguay  .       .       .       *  87 

c)  Between   Brazil   and    the    "Telegrapho 
Oriental"    .  .90 

Sources  of  Information  92 


BRAZIL 


Area:  3,276,358  square  miles 
Population:  30,553,000  (census  of  1920) 
Capital:  Rio  de  Janeiro.    Population  1,130,000  (census  of 
1920)  

STATE  TELEGRAPH 

Introduction  and  Development  under  the 
Empire,  1851-1889 

The  introduction  of  the  telegraph  in  Brazil  is 
contemporaneous  with  the  war  waged  by  the  Empire 
from  1851  to  1854  in  defense  of  Uruguay  against  the 
Argentine  dictator,  Rosas.  According  to  the  "Me- 
moria  Historica"*  Euzebio  de  Queiroz  Coutinho 
Mattoso  da  Camara,  then  Minister  of  Justice,  noti- 
fied the  Director  of  Semaphores  on  May  5,  1851,  that 
he  had  decided  to  replace  the  optical  telegraph  with 
the  then  recently  invented  electric  telegraph.  In 
the  same  year  the  Brazilian  Minister  at  Washington, 
Sergio  Teixeira  de  Macedo,  transmitted  to  his  home 
government  a  proposal  of  J.  L.  Leonardt,  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  to  interconnect  various  important 
cities  of  Brazil  by  electric  telegraph  lines.  This 
offer,  however,  was  not  accepted. 

It  is  reported  that  Euzebio  de  Queiroz  decided  to 
discontinue  the  slow-working  optical  telegraph,  which 
up  to  that  time  had  been  the  only  means  of  trans- 
mitting messages  in  Brazil,  as  rapid  communication 

*Official  publication  of  the  Brazilian  Telegraph  Administration,  printed 
in  Rio  de  Janeiro,  1909. 

3 

M17461 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


between  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  the  port  of  Mangaratiba 
had  become  imperative  so  as  to  prevent  the  illegal 
landing  of  slaves,  which  was  a  frequent  occurrence 
in  those  days.  To  carry  out  this  project  Euzebio  de 
Queiroz  instructed  Dr.  Paula  Candido,  a  professor 
at  the  School  of  Medicine,  to  build  a  short  trial  line 
between  the  police  headquarters  in  the  capital  and 
the  optical  telegraph  station  on  Castello  Hill.  Dr. 
Candido,  with  the  assistance  of  Colonel  Polydoro 
Q.  da  Fonseca  Jordao,  police  commissioner,  secured 
the  loan  of  a  telegraph  apparatus  from  Dr.  G. 
Schiich  de  Capanema,  professor  of  physics  at  the 
Escola  Central.  A  few  days  later  the  Colonel,  bitterly 
disappointed,  returned  the  apparatus  to  the  professor, 
saying :  "  Tome  la  as  suas  machinas  que  nao  prestam." 
(Take  back  your  apparatus  which  is  useless.)  He 
soon  learned,  however,  that  he  was  mistaken,  for 
Dr.  Capanema  connected  up  the  apparatus  properly 
and  gave  Colonel  Polydoro  an  actual  demonstration 
of  electrical  transmission.  Realizing  the  value  of 
the  new  means  of  electrical  communication,  Colonel 
Polydoro  went  immediately  to  Queiroz  and  obtained 
from  him  an  order  instructing  Dr.  Capanema  to  build 
a  line  from  Quinta  Imperial,  the  country  residence  of 
the  Emperor,  to  the  Quartel  do  Campo,  the  mili- 
tary headquarters.  This  line,  although  constructed 
with  cheap  material,  operated  satisfactorily,  and  on 
May  11,  1852,  telegrams  were  exchanged  between  the 
Emperor  and  Queiroz  and  Capanema,  both  stationed 
at  military  headquarters.  This  date  is  officially 
recognized  as  the  date  of  the  introduction  of  the 
telegraph  in  Brazil.  Shortly  after  this  took  place 
the  Consul  of  Brazil  in  Prussia  was  requested  to 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


obtain  five  sets  of  Morse  duplex  telegraph  apparatus 
and  some  line  material.  This  equipment  was 
received  from  Europe  in  the  following  year  and  a 
line  was  constructed  between  the  various  military 
establishments  and  the  capital. 

The  first  ordinance  relating  to  the  electric  tele- 
graph was  issued  by  the  Minister  of  Justice  on  Janu- 
ary 17,  1864,  and  provided  for  the  telegraphic  inter- 
connection of  important  administrative  offices. 

In  Brazil,  as  in  many  other  countries,  the  electric 
telegraph  lacked  the  support  of  the  public  during  its 
early  development.  In  fact,  an  examination  of  the 
newspapers  published  in  Rio  de  Janeiro  during  this 
period  shows  that  there  were  the  usual  scoffers  who 
predicted  that,  on  account  of  the  climatic  conditions 
prevailing  in  Brazil,  that  country  was  unsuited  for 
the  successful  use  of  the  electric  telegraph.  Un- 
daunted by  such  statements,  however,  Dr.  Capanema 
commenced  the  construction  of  a  line  from  the  capi- 
tal to  Petropolis.  The  total  length  of  this  line  was 
50  kilometers  (about  31  miles)  of  which  15  kilo- 
meters consisted  of  a  submarine  cable.  By  an  im- 
perial ordinance  of  March  17,  1855,  Dr.  Capanema 
was  appointed  Director  Geral  dos  Telegraphos 
Electricos  (Director  General  of  Electric  Telegraphs), 
and  was  requested  to  create  an  administrative  office 
known  as  Direcgao  Geral. 

The  electric  telegraph  was  used  for  official  busi- 
ness only  until  1858,  when  on  August  1st  the  Gov- 
ernment opened  the  Prainha-Maua-Fragoso-Petrop- 
olis  line  to  the  public. 

The  first  "Reglamento"  or  rules  and  regulations 
governing  the  telegraph  service  are  embodied  in 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


decree  No.  2614  of  July  21,  1860,  which  stated  that 
the  telegraph  service  should  be  placed  under  the 
direct  supervision  of  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture, 
Commerce  and  Public  Works.  This  decree  pre- 
scribed that  service  should  be  furnished  to  the  pub- 
lic between  the  hours  of  6  A.M.  and  6  P.M.  in 
summer  and  7  A.M.  and  5  P.M.  in  winter,  and  estab- 
lished a  tariff  consisting  of  a  charge  of  80  reis*  (2.6 
cents)  per  word  for  a  message  of  20  words  and  40  reis 
(1.3  cents)  for  each  additional  20  words. 

From  1852  to  1860  the  Government  spent  136,- 
863  milreis  ($45,165)  upon  the  electric  telegraph,  of 
which  68,993  milreis  ($22,768)  was  for  salaries  and 
wages  and  the  balance  for  material.  In  1861,  nine 
years  after  the  inauguration  of  the  telegraph  in 
Brazil,  the  total  extension  of  line  was  65  kilometers 
(about  40  miles),  consisting  of  the  Prainha-Petropolis 
line  of  50  kilometers  and  15  kilometers  of  line  within 
the  city  of  Rio  de  Janeiro.  At  that  time  there  were 
10  telegraph  offices  and  16  sets  of  telegraph  apparatus 
in  the  country. 

Decree  No.  3519  of  September  30,  1865,  changed 
the  telegraph  tariff  of  1860  and  made  the  rate  for 
an  ordinary  telegram  of  20  words  sent  over  a  line  of 
200  kilometers  (124  miles)  one  milreis  (33  cents), 
with  a  further  charge  of  500  reis  (16.5  cents)  for  each 
additional  10  words.  This  rate  increased  propor- 
tionally for  each  additional  200  kilometers  of  line. 

From  1865  to  1870  the  Empire  employed  all  its 
resources  in  carrying  on  the  sanguinary  war  against 
the  Paraguayan  dictator,  Francisco  Lopez,  who  had 
invaded  Argentina,  Uruguay  and  Brazil.  Robert  P. 

*One  paper  milreis  (1,000  reis)  approximately  33  cents  in  U.  S.  currency. 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


Porter,  in  his  book  "The  Ten  Republics,"  states 
that  this  war  cost  Brazil  £50,000,000  (about  $243,- 
000,000),  and  adds,  "an  expenditure  which  indicates 
the  material  progress  she  had  made,  since  it  did  not 
quite  ruin  her."  It  was  in  the  second  year  of  the 
war  that  Dr.  Capanema  conceived  the  idea  of  having 
a  telegraph  train  accompany  the  field  forces  and  to 
use  the  telegraph  for  connecting  the  military  head- 
quarters in  Tuyu-Cue  with  the  advance  guards.  At 
the  outbreak  of  the  war  the  Government  instructed 
the  Director  of  Telegraphs  to  build  a  line  from  the 
capital  to  Porto  Alegre,  which  line  was  opened  in 
September,  1866.  Later  on  Rio  de  Janeiro  was 
placed  in  telegraphic  connection  with  Tijuca  and 
Botafogo,  and  the  line  from  the  fortress  of  Santa 
Cruz  was  extended  to  Nictheroy. 

Although  the  rules  and  regulations  stated  that  the 
electric  telegraph  constituted  a  monopoly  of  the 
Government,  decree  No.  4350  of  April  5,  1868,  pro- 
vided for  competitive  telegraph  service  by  private 
companies.  In  accordance  with  this  decree  a  20- 
year  concession  was  granted  to  F.  A.  Kieffer  for  the 
construction  of  a  telegraph  line  between  Rio  de 
Janeiro  and  Ouro  Preto,  with  branch  lines  to  Rezende 
and  S.  Joao  da  Barra. 

Under  decree  No.  4491  of  March  23, 1870,  Charles 
T.  Bright,  E.  B.  Webb,  and  William  Jones  received 
a  60-year  concession  to  lay  a  submarine  cable  to  the 
north  and  south  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  the  northern 
terminal  to  be  the  city  of  Para  (province  of  Para) 
and  the  southern  S.  Pedro  (province  of  Rio  Grande 
do  Sul),  thus  practically  extending  along  the  entire 
coast  of  Brazil.  This  concession  also  gave  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


syndicate  authority  to  link  up  its  northern  cable 
routes  with  transatlantic  lines  to  Europe  and  to 
the  United  States  of  North  America.  Article  2  of 
this  contract,  which  was  signed  by  Diogo  V.  Caval- 
canti  de  Albuquerque,  representing  the  Imperial 
Government,  stipulated  that  telegraphic  connection 
should  be  established  with  the  following  provinces: 

A.  To  the  North:  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Espirito  Santo,  Bahia, 
Sergipe,    Alagoas,    Pernambuco,    Parahyba,   Ceara, 
Piauhy  and  Maranhao. 

B.  To  the  South:  Sao  Paulo,  Parana,  and  Santa  Cath- 
arina. 

Article  4  provided  that  the  concession  should  be  valid 
for  60  years  from  the  date  of  the  signing  of  the  con- 
tract and  that  during  this  period  the  Government 
would  not  permit  any  other  submarine  cable  to  be 
laid  to  any  point  reached  by  the  cable  of  this  syndi- 
cate. Article  6  specified  that  the  cable  had  to  be  in 
operation  by  two  years  from  the  date  of  the  signing 
of  the  contract.  Article  14  declared  that  at  the  ex- 
piration of  the  concession  the  cable  and  land  line 
plant  of  the  concessionaire  should  revert  to  the 
Brazilian  Government  "sem  indemnisagao  alguna" 
(without  any  indemnity),  while  in  the  following 
article  the  Government  reserved  to  itself  the  right 
to  take  over  the  cable  after  the  first  ten  years  of  actual 
operation  at  a  price  to  be  ascertained  by  arbiters. 
In  1873  the  concession  obtained  by  the  syndicate  was 
transferred  to  the  Telegraph  Construction  &  Main- 
tenance Company,  Ltd.,  which  in  turn  transferred 
it  to  the  Western  &  Brazilian  Telegraph  Company. 
Telegraph  service  between  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  the 

8 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


provinces  of  Bahia,  Pernambuco  and  Para  began  on 
December  24,  1875,  the  first  message  being  sent  by 
the  Emperor  congratulating  the  three  provinces 
"por  tao  fausto  acontecimento"  (for  such  a  proud 
achievement). 

At  this  point  it  is  of  interest  to  note  that  from 
the  beginning  of  the  Government  telegraph  Dr. 
Capanema  opposed  granting  concessions  for  furnish- 
ing telegraphic  communication  to  private  parties 
and  maintained  that  the  telegraph  service  should 
be  the  exclusive  monopoly  of  the  Government.  One 
of  the  main  reasons  for  his  taking  this  stand  was  the 
heavy  annual  deficits  of  the  telegraph  service  and  his 
desire  to  so  increase  the  receipts,  which  he  evidently 
believed  could  be  done  if  the  Government  owned  all 
the  telegraph  lines,  that  the  Legislature  might  have 
no  cause  for  cutting  down  the  large  appropriations 
demanded  by  the  Director  General  for  the  rapid 
extension  of  the  telegraph.  Naturally  his  firm  oppo- 
sition made  him  unpopular  with  various  business 
interests  who  severely  criticized  him  for  his  lack  of 
good  judgment.  To  combat  these  attacks  Dr.  Capa- 
nema wrote  a  series  of  valuable  articles  in  1869  which 
were  published  in  the  newspapers  of  the  metropolis 
in  which  he  refuted  the  charges  brought  against  his 
administration  and  revealed  to  the  public  what  he 
termed  the  shortsightedness  of  the  Government  in 
failing  to  protect  one  of  its  most  important  mo- 
nopolies against  dangerous  private  competition. 

The  report  of  the  Minister  of  Commerce,  sub- 
mitted to  the  first  session  of  the  Fourteenth  Congress 
of  Brazil,  gives  the  extent  of  the  State  telegraph  plant 
in  1869  as  follows :  "  We  have  at  present  316*^  leagues 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


(about  1,297  miles)  of  telegraph  besides  40  leagues 
(164  miles)  under  construction  and  75  leagues  (307 
miles)  already  authorized  to  be  built."  Up  to  1869 
the  Government  had  spent  282,000  milreis  ($93,000) 
on  the  telegraph,  an  expenditure  of  135  milreis 
($44.55)  per  kilometer  of  line,  "pregos  estos  que  me 
parecen  muito  elevados"  (figures  that  appear  to 
me  extremely  high).  The  detailed  statistics  of  the 
State  telegraph  at  that  time  were: 


City  lines 

Kilometers 
of  Wire 
22 

Number  of 
Offices 
11 

Line  to  Petropolis 

50 

3 

Line  to  lighthouse  near  Cabo  Frio  

165 

3 

Line  from  Rio  de  Janeiro  to  Porto  Alegre  .  .  . 
Line  from  Porto  Alegre  to  Pelotas 

.  .  .      1,452 
60 

18 

4 

Line  from  S.  Joao  da  Barra  to  Campos  

340 

12 

Total 2,089=  51 

1,297  miles 

Toward  the  end  of  1870  the  Government  pro- 
mulgated decree  No.  4653  together  with  rules  relat- 
ing to  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  telegraph 
lines  along  railroads.  In  accordance  with  this  decree 
the  concessionaire  was  authorized  to  construct  and 
maintain  the  lines  and  obliged  to  hand  over  to  the 
Administration  a  special  wire  for  the  transmission 
of  public  messages.  The  decree  also  authorized 
industrial  establishments  to  connect  their  places  of 
business  with  the  nearest  telegraph  office. 

In  the  same  year  the  Telegraph  Administration, 
with  the  approval  of  the  Legislature,  published  a 
new  rate  schedule  based  upon  an  ordinary  message 
of  20  words  plus  one-half  of  the  first  charge  for  each 
additional  10  words,  and  also  plus  certain  amounts 
for  the  longer  distances  traversed  by  a  message. 

10 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


This  schedule  established  the  following  rates  for  an 
ordinary  message: 

Distance  up  to    200  kilometers 1  milreis 


Fr< 

5m  201 

1  400 

401 

'  600 

601 

1  800 

801 

'1,000 

1,001 

'1,300 

1,301 

'1,600 

1,601 

'2,000 

2,001 

'2,400 

2,401 

'  2,800 

2,801 

'3,200 

3,201 

'3,600 

3,601 

'4,000 

4,001 

'4,500 

4,501 

'5,000 

For  messages  written  in  a  foreign  language  or  in 
cipher,  and  also  for  preferred  or  urgent  telegrams, 
twice  the  ordinary  rates  were  charged.  This  rate 
scheme  remained  in  force  until  1881. 

The  report  presented  to  the  Brazilian  Congress 
of  1871  by  the  Minister  of  Commerce,  reviewed  the 
progress  of  the  telegraph  since  its  origin,  and  con- 
cluded as  follows:  "It  is  well  known  that  only  after 
1864  did  the  construction  of  telegraph  lines  in  Brazil 
receive  any  encouragement,  but  it  is  equally  true 
that,  so  far,  we  have  done  very  little  with  this  service 
when  we  consider  that  the  telegraph  is  a  public 
service  which  plays  an  important  role  in  the  promo- 
tion of  commerce  and  good  government  and  whose 
advantages  are  recognized  by  all  civilized  countries. 
Consequently,  despite  our  drawbacks,  we  should 
try  to  make  up  for  the  time  lost." 

Meanwhile,  in  the  neighboring  republics  of  Argen- 
tina and  Uruguay  the  telegraph  had  rapidly  devel- 
oped so  that  their  lines  approached  close  to  the 
frontiers  of  Brazil  and  made  international  telegraphic 

11 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


communication  highly  desirable.  The  first  inter- 
national telegraph  line  was  constructed  by  an  English 
firm  and  extended  from  the  boundary  of  Uruguay 
to  Jaguarao,  Brazil.  Soon  afterward  another  con- 
cern laid  a  cable  to  the  city  of  Rio  Grande.  In 
1871  the  Telegraph  Administration  finished  a  line  to 
Curityba  (province  of  Parana)  and  also  one  con- 
necting Pelotas  and  Porto  Alegre  (province  of  Rio 
Grande  do  Sul).  The  Jaguarao  office,  at  the  south- 
ern frontier  of  Brazil,  was  opened  for  service  October 
29,  1871. 

The  most  important  event  of  the  following  year 
was  the  granting  of  a  20-year  concession,  by  decree 
No.  5058  of  August  16,  1872,  to  Baron  de  Maua  to 
lay  and  operate  a  submarine  cable  between  Brazil 
and  Portugal  and  the  Portuguese  possessions,  thus 
establishing  direct  telegraphic  communication  be- 
tween Brazil  and  Europe.  The  contract  drawn  up 
between  Baron  de  Maua  and  Viscount  de  Itauna, 
representing  the  Emperor  of  Brazil,  stipulated  that 
the  cable  should  start  from  the  Cape  of  S.  Roque 
(province  of  Rio  Grande  do  Norte)  and  should  go  via 
Cape  Verde  Islands  and  Madeira  to  Lisbon.  By 
decree  of  June  18,  1873,  Baron  de  Maua  was  per- 
mitted to  transfer  this  concession  to  the  Brazilian 
Submarine  Telegraph  Company,  Ltd.  The  latter 
arranged  with  the  Telegraph  Construction  and  Main- 
tenance Company,  Ltd.,  to  perform  the  work  of  lay- 
ing the  cable,  and  service  was  inaugurated  in  July, 
1874. 

During  1873  the  telegraph  was  extended  to  the 
city  of  Itapemirim  (province  of  Espirito  Santo) 
which  also  made  possible  the  continuation  of  that 

12 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


line  to  Maceio  (province  of  Alagoas)  in  northern 
Brazil.  The  gain  in  important  telegraph  lines  in 
the  south  is  noteworthy,  the  branch  from  Santos  to 
S.  Paulo  being  of  particular  importance.  During 
the  next  year  the  Government  continued  its  policy 
of  providing  telegraph  lines  to  northern  Brazil,  the 
Victoria  (province  of  Pernambuco)  office  being 
opened  February  26th  and  those  at  Bahia  (province 
of  Bahia)  and  Aracaju  (province  of  Sergipe)  on 
November  8th  of  the  same  year. 

Active  construction  work  continued  during  1875, 
the  telegraph  reaching  the  capital  of  the  province 
of  Parahyba  in  that  year  and  in  the  year  following 
was  extended  to  the  province  of  Rio  Grande  do 
Norte.  By  the  end  of  1879  thirteen  of  the  twenty 
provinces  of  the  Empire  were  in  telegraphic  communi- 
cation with  the  capital  and  in  1881  communication 
was  established  with  Fortaleza  (province  of  Ceara). 

By  decree  No.  8354  of  December  27,  1881,  the 
Administration  again  introduced  a  new  telegraph 
tariff  which  established  a  charge  of  100  reis  (3.3 
cents)  per  word,  counting  10  letters  as  one  word, 
for  a  domestic  message  and  a  unit  distance  of  400 
kilometers  (248  miles).  While  the  new  tariff  de- 
creased the  cost  of  ordinary  messages  over  com- 
paratively short  distances,  it  greatly  increased  the 
cost  of  telegrams  over  longer  hauls,  such  as  that 
between  the  capital  and  Belem,  a  line  distance  of 
about  5,000  kilometers  ((3,105  miles).  This  fact  is 
commented  upon  in  the  1899  Relatorio,  where  it  is 
stated  that  the  cost  of  such  a  message,  figured  on 
the  1881  tariff,  amounted  to  26  milreis  ($8.58).  This 
tariff  was  retained  until  the  fall  of  the  Empire  in 

13 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


1889  and  was  modified  by  decree  No.  372A,  issued 
by  the  Provisional  Government  on  May  2,  1890. 

By  1884  the  telegraph  had  been  completed  to  S. 
Luiz  (province  of  Maranhao).  By  order  of  the  Em- 
peror, Don  Pedro  II,  the  telegraph  stations  included 
on  this  line  were  opened  to  the  public  on  December 
14,  1884.  The  -day  before  the  inauguration  of  the 
service,  Dr.  Capanema,  Director  General  of  Tele- 
graphs, with  the  assistance  of  D.  Eduardo  Jones, 
Manager  of  the  Uruguayan  telegraphs,  arranged  to 
have  a  message  sent  from  Therezina  (province  of 
Piauhy)  via  S.  Luiz  to  Montevideo,  a  distance  of 
9,700  kilometers  (6,023  miles).  The  experiment 
proved  an  entire  success,  the  message  taking  only 
six  minutes  to  pass  between  the  two  terminal  points. 
Due  to  the  satisfactory  transmission  over  this  trial 
line  the  Director  General  of  Posts  and  Telegraphs  of 
Argentina  ordered  direct  telegraphic  connection  to  be 
established  between  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Montevideo  and 
Buenos  Aires. 

Another  important  work  executed  under  the 
supervision  of  Dr.  Capanema  was  the  construction 
of  a  line  to  Para  (or  Belem),  the  terminus  of  the 
submarine  cable  that  was  to  connect  Brazil  with 
the  United  States  of  North  America.  This  line  was 
finished  October  13,  1886. 

Except  for  the  construction  of  some  branch  lines 
connecting  various  cities  along  the  coast  of  Brazil, 
nothing  of  importance  was  done  in  connection  with 
the  telegraph  service  during  the  year  prior  to  the  fall 
of  the  Empire  and  the  establishment  of  the  Republic. 

The  "Memoria  Historica"  states  that  the  condi- 
tions which  confronted  the  Director  General  during 

14 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


the  last  years  prior  to  his  retirement  became  more 
and  more  unsatisfactory  and  that,  despite  the  many 
years  of  incessant  toil,  the  old  Director  General, 
who  had  earned  the  proud  title  of  "Father  of  the 
Brazilian  Telegraphs/'  saw  his  best  efforts  prejudiced 
because  the  Republican  Government  failed  to  pro- 
vide the  necessary  funds  for  new  lines  and  proper 
maintenance  of  the  existing  plant  which  was  rapidly 
deteriorating.  Moreover,  his  authority  as  managing 
director  was  frequently  weakened  or  overridden  by 
the  promotion  of  incompetent  persons  over  the  heads 
of  the  thoroughly  competent  and  well-trained  old 
employees.  At  the  same  time  the  volume  of  traffic 
of  unwarranted  official  free  messages  frequently 
assumed  such  proportions  as  to  seriously  interfere 
with  the  transmission  of  private  paid  telegrams,  and 
the  consequent  delay  in  their  delivery  led  to  many 
bitter  complaints  by  the  general  public.  In  addition, 
the  ever  increasing  number  of  official  messages  stead- 
ily reduced  the  telegraph  revenue  which  was  also 
detrimentally  affected  by  the  competition  of  the 
private  railroads  and  the  powerful  English  cable 
companies.  Consequently,  the  annual  telegraph 
deficit  rose  higher  from  year  to  year.  Finally,  the 
telephone  service,  which  the  Government  should  have 
developed  as  a  feeder  to  the  National  telegraph 
revenue,  had  been  entirely  abandoned  to  private 
interests  who  frequently  obtained  unwarranted  con- 
cessions. According  to  the  writer  of  the  "Memoria 
Historica"  these  conditions  caused  Dr.  Capanema 
to  resign  and  thus  avoid  a  clash  between  his  own 
well-established  method  of  managing  the  telegraph 
and  the  antagonistic  methods  advocated  and  enforced 

15 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


by  those  at  the  head  of  the  Republican  Adminis- 
tration. 

STATISTICS  OF  THE  BRAZILIAN  TELEGRAPH 

1861-1889 


Year 

Kilometers 
of  Wire 

Number  of 
Stations 

Number  of 
Telegrams 

Gross 
Revenue 
(milreis) 

Annual 
Deficit* 
(milreis) 

1861  . 

65 

10 

233 

328 

41  000 

1865  
1870  
1874  
1881  

187 
2,089 
6,286 
13,000 

23 
51 
81 
135 

3,088 
44,775 
103,689 
383,147 

6,293 
127,829 
252,745 
1,241,770 

534,000 
207,000 
1,445,000 
390,000 

1882.. 

13,249 

136 

338,053 

1,220,182 

660,000 

1883 

13,651 

139 

331,884 

1  039  932 

739000 

1884 

15,262 

159 

367,779 

1,345  203 

764  000 

1885  
1886  
1887     . 

18,197 
18,311 
18,363 

171 
171 
170 

390,277 
656,575f 

1,219,794 
l,789,939f 

1,381,000 
l,078,000f 

1888  .    .. 

18,488 

173 

521,886 

1,304,207 

729,000 

1889  

18,925 

182 

637,382 

1,968,649 

309000 

*  Includes  capital  expenditures, 
t  Includes  second  half  of  1887. 

The  Telegraph  under  the  Republic,  1889-1921 

The  Republic  of  Brazil  was  established  on  No- 
vember 15,  1889,  under  the  military  dictatorship  of 
Marshal  de  Fonseca  amidst  civil  contention  and  a 
severe  financial  and  economic  crisis.  Through  the 
emancipation  of  the  slaves  under  the  former  Emperor 
the  country  had  been  plunged  into  a  state  of  disorder 
which  in  1892  culminated  in  a  revolution  lasting 
in  the  province  of  Rio  Grande  do  Sul  until  July,  1895. 

The  change  of  government  introduced  more  mod- 
ern ideas  concerning  the  management  of  all  public 
services,  including  the  telegraph  as  is  illustrated  by 
decree  No.  199  of  February  6,  1890,  which  cedes 
to  the  municipality  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  the  telephone 

16 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


service  within  its  boundaries.  Unfortunately,  how- 
ever, decree  No.  372A,  issued  the  following  May, 
flatly  contradicted  the  disposition  of  the  February 
decree  by  providing  in  article  I  that  both  the  tele- 
graph and  telephone  lines  in  the  territory  of  the 
Republic,  built  for  service  to  be  furnished  either  by 
the  Administration  or  by  private  parties,  are  the 
property  of  the  Government.  The  legislative  tangle 
was  finally  straightened  out  by  article  7,  paragraph 
4,  and  article  9,  paragraph  4,  of  the  new  constitu- 
tion, adopted  on  February  24,  1891,  which  author- 
ized the  States  comprising  the  Union  to  construct 
telegraph  lines,  not  only  within  their  own  territory, 
but  also  to  points  in  adjacent  States  not  reached  by 
the  Federal  telegraph,  provided,  however,  that  all 
such  lines  might  be  acquired  later  on  by  the  Federal 
Government.  The  new  constitution  also  established 
the  absolute  sovereignty  of  municipalities  over  the 
electric,  traction,  light  and  power  services. 

For  a  clear  understanding  of  the  powers  granted 
by  the  constitution  both  to  the  Federal  Government 
and  to  the  States  in  regard  to  legislation  upon  matters 
pertaining  to  the  telegraph  and  telephone  services, 
the  following  paragraph,  written  by  a  leading  Brazil- 
ian lawyer  in  answer  to  a  request  for  a  correct  in- 
terpretation of  articles  7  and  9,  is  quoted. 

"In  regard  to  the  competency  of  the  Federal  and  State 
Governments  to  legislate  upon  this  matter  it  is  clear  that 
both  have  this  power,  which,  however,  cannot  be  exercised 
concurrently.  It  evidently  was  the  intention  of  the  Brazilian 
legislators  not  to  give  the  Union  the  monopoly  of  such 
services  for  fear  such  monopoly  would  tend  to  discourage 
the  development  of  these  public  utilities  in  a  country  of  such 

17 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


vast  area.  For  this  reason  the  power  given  to  the  Union 
by  article  7,  paragraph  4,  to  make  rates  for  the  Federal  tele- 
graph was  also  extended  to  the  States  by  article  9  which 
reads:  'the  States  possess  also  the  exclusive  right  to  make 
rates  for  their  own  telegraph  lines/  while  paragraph  4  of 
the  same  article  reads:  'the  right  to  establish  telegraph  lines 
between  points  within  their  own  territory  and  likewise  to 
points  within  other  States  not  served  by  telegraph  lines  is 
reserved  to  the  States;  however,  the  Union  may  take  pos- 
session of  such  lines  in  the  interest  of  the  general  welfare 
of  the  country/  In  other  words,  although  the  States  of  the 
Union  have  the  right  to  establish  telegraph  systems  within 
their  own  territory  or  with  neighboring  States,  such  right 
cannot  be  exercised  in  conflict  with  the  Federal  power/' 

No  change  occurred,  however,  in  the  policy  of 
the  Government  to  oppose  the  interconnection  of 
neighboring  States  by  private  lines,  which  opposition 
was  based  on  the  ground  that  such  concessions  would 
interfere  with  the  National  telegraph  system,  re- 
duce the  earnings  of  the  Government  lines,  and 
afford  means  of  communication  over  which  the 
Government  would  not  have  the  control  it  desired 
to  maintain.  While  this  policy  did  not  restrict  to 
any  appreciable  extent  the  construction  of  private 
telegraph  lines,  of  which  by  far  the  majority  served 
the  operation  of  railroads,  the  same  policy,  when 
applied  to  the  telephone,  prevented  and  suppressed 
the  building  of  interstate  long  distance  lines  thus 
hindering  the  development  of  one  of  the  most  effica- 
cious means  of  advancing  the  commercial  life  of  a 
nation. 

As  this  subject  will  be  taken  up  in  the  chapter 
dealing  with  private  telephone  service,  it  suffices  to 
state  here  that  it  was  through  the  efforts  of  the  Rio 

18 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


de  Janeiro  Tramway,  Light  and  Power  Company, 
Limited,  that  the  Federal  authorities  decided  in  1909 
to  refer  the  entire  matter  to  the  Brazilian  Congress 
with  the  understanding  that  the  latter  would  dis- 
pose, not  only  of  the  petition  then  pending  to  inter- 
connect the  Federal  District  telephonically  with 
the  State  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  but  would  pass  such 
legislation  in  the  treatment  of  this  particular  case 
as  to  definitely  settle  the  matter  of  interstate  tele- 
phone communication.  Such  legislation  was  duly 
enacted  and  by  removing  the  former  interstate 
restrictions  made  possible  the  direct  connection  of  the 
principal  commercial  centers  of  Brazil  by  telephone. 

Shortly  after  the  establishment  of  the  Provisional 
Government,  which  lasted  from  November  15,  1889, 
to  January,  1891,  that  body  considered  it  advisable 
to  connect  the  States  of  Goyaz  and  Matto  Grosso 
with  the  National  telegraph,  and  for  this  purpose 
instructed  the  Telegraph  Administration  to  install 
telegraph  offices  at  Goyaz  and  Cuyaba,  where  service 
was  inaugurated  October  1,  1890,  and  December  31, 
1891,  respectively. 

The  budget  for  the  year  1890  also  carried  an  ap- 
propriation of  1,500  contos*  ($495,000)  for  the  con- 
struction of  a  telegraph  line  between  Belem  (State  of 
Para)  and  Manaos  (State  of  Amazonas),  Work 
was  started  and  continued  for  one  year  when,  after 
an  expenditure  of  1,000  contos  ($330,000)  operations 
were  suspended  due  to  the  lack  of  funds  in  the 
National  Treasury. 

Desiring  to  popularize  the  telegraph  service,  the 
Provisional  Government  issued  decree  372A  of 

*  One  conto  (1,000  paper  milreis)  approximately  $330  in  U.  S.  currency. 

19 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


May  2,  1890,  which  reduced  the  rate  for  a  domestic 
telegram  to  70  reis  (2.3  cents)  per  word,  a  word  not 
to  exceed  15  letters,  and  also  authorized  a  50% 
reduction  in  the  regular  rate  for  press  messages. 
An  annual  charge  of  10  milreis  ($3.30)  for  the  tele- 
graphic registration  of  addresses  was  an  innovation 
introduced  at  this  time. 

Of  far-reaching  importance  for  the  development 
of  the  commerce  of  the  country  was  the  determined 
effort  of  the  Provisional  Government  to  provide 
additional  cable  facilities.  By  decree  No.  944  of 
November  1,  1890,  the  Western  and  Brazilian  Tele- 
graph Company,  Ltd.,  received  permission  to  lay  a 
second  coastal  cable  to  the  north  and  south  of  the 
capital.  In  furtherance  of  the  same  policy  the  Pro- 
visional Government  advertised  that  it  was  ready  to 
receive  bids  for  the  laying  of  a  submarine  cable 
connecting  Brazil  with  the  United  States  of  North 
America,  with  the  result  that  the  Societe  Generate 
des  Telephones  and  the  Societe  Frangaise  des  Tele- 
graphes  Sous-Marins  received  a  25-year  concession 
by  decree  No.  216A  of  February  22,  1890.  This  con- 
tract provided  that  Vizeu  (State  of  Para)  should  be 
the  starting  point,  but  subsequently, 'with  the  per- 
mission of  the  Government,  the  licensee  trans- 
ferred the  starting  point  to  a  place  near  Salinas,  also 
in  the  State  of  Para.  Service  over  this  route  began 
Spetember  1,  1892. 

Additional  cable  facilities  were  provided  by  decree 
No.  128  of  April  11,  1891,  whereby  the  Provisional 
Government  granted  a  25-year  concession  to  William 
Parsone,  representing  the  India  Rubber,  Gutta 
Percha  and  Telegraph  Works  Company,  Ltd.,  of 

20 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


London,  for  the  laying  of  a  cable,  or  cables,  between 
Pernambuco  (State  of  Pernambuco)  and  St.  Louis 
in  Senegal,  Africa,  this  cable  to  touch  at  the  Island 
of  Fernando  do  Noronha,  Decree  No.  965A  of 
June  30,  1892,  transferred  this  concession  to  the 
South  American  Cable  Company,  Ltd.,  an  English 
concern  registered  July  4,  1891,  which,  under  an 
agreement  with  the  former  concessionaire,  acquired 
the  2,165  miles  of  cable  already  laid. 

That  the  change  of  Government  caused  a  remark- 
able expansion  of  Brazilian  commerce  and  industries 
is  shown  by  the  increase  in  telegraph  traffic  during 
the  10-year  period  1890-1899  as  compared  with  the 
preceding  decade.  From  1880-1889  the  average 
yearly  number  of  telegrams  was  approximately  420,- 
000,  and  the  largest  number  of  messages  in  a  single 
year  was  657,000  in  1887,  while  during  the  period 
1890-1899  the  average  number  of  telegrams  per 
year  was  1,290,000  (over  three  times  the  volume  in 
the  previous  decade),  with  the  largest  number  of 
messages  in  a  single  year  1,722,000. 

To  take  care  of  the  increased  traffic  the  Tele- 
graph Administration  equipped  a  number  of  the 
great  trunk  lines  with  additional  wires.  However, 
despite  such  increased  facilities  the  service  did  not 
improve  because,  as  the  writer  of  the  "Memoria 
Historica"  states,  the  trouble  was  not  due  to  lack 
of  wires,  but  to  imperfect  and  bad  transmission 
which  resulted  in  an  average  transmission  of  scarcely 
three  words  per  minute.  Naturally,  the  Admin- 
istration turned  its  attention  to  the  use  of  rapid 
telegraph  systems  and  in  1897  installed  Baudot  appa- 
ratus on  the  line  between  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  S.  Paulo. 

21 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


The  success  attained  with  this  system  led  to  the 
general  use  of  Baudot  apparatus  on  the  line  between 
Rio  de  Janeiro  and  Recife  (State  of  Pernambuco)  a 
distance  of  1,800  kilometers  (1,118  miles)  and  also 
between  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  Porto  Alegre  (State  of 
Rio  Grande  do  Sul).  A  further  improvement  in  the 
service  was  brought  about  by  the  use  of  the  Hughes 
Printing  Telegraph. 

Decree  No.  2000  of  April  2,  1895,  signed  by  the 
first  civil  president  of  Brazil,  Prudente  J.  de  Moraes 
Barros,  granted  a  30-year  exclusive  concession  to 
Richard  J.  Reidy,  as  the  representative  of  the  Ama- 
zon Telegraph  Company,  Ltd.,  for  the  establishment 
of  telegraphic  communication  through  a  subfluvial 
cable  between  the  capitals  of  Para  and  Amazonas, 
the  two  most  northern  States  of  Brazil.  The  cable 
was  constructed  and  laid  by  Siemens  Brothers  & 
Company,  Ltd.,  at  a  cost  of  £211,000  ($1,027,000) 
and  was  completed  in  February,  1896,  with  a  total 
length  of  1,365  miles.  In  later  years  when  the  laying 
of  a  second  cable  between  Belem  and  S.  Jose  de 
Amatary  became  imperative  in  order  to  guard  against 
the  frequent  interruptions  to  the  service,  the  Govern- 
ment extended  the  life  of  the  contract  to  April  2, 1945. 

Upon  the  enactment  of  law  No.  391  of  October  7, 
1896,  a  dispute  of  long  standing  between  the  Adminis- 
tration and  the  privately  owned  and  operated  rail- 
roads furnishing  public  telegraph  service  was  ter- 
minated. This  contention  originated  in  1870  when 
the  Government  issued  decree  No.  4653  with  rules 
and  regulations  for  the  construction  and  maintenance 
of  telegraph  lines  along  railroads.  In  the  memoir 
accompanying  the  decree  the  Minister  had  advised 

22 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


the  Government  that  in  the  interest  of  the  State 
telegraph  service  the  railroads  should  be  called  upon 
to  cede  to  the  Administration  one  conductor  on  each 
of  their  telegraph  lines.  As  the  railroads  reached 
many  places  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the 
then  existing  State  telegraph  offices  it  was  evident 
that  by  making  this  proposal  obligatory  the  State 
telegraph  could  gain  a  large  number  of  offices  and 
lines  without  any  expense  to  the  National  Treasury. 
Nothing  was  done  until  1878  when  the  Legislature 
passed  decree  No.  6995  which  established  the  basis 
for  the  granting  of  railroad  concessions  and  which 
authorized  the  Government  to  use  the  poles  of  the 
railroad  telegraph  lines  for  a  State  telegraph  wire, 
which  was  to  be  maintained  by  the  railroad  com- 
panies. As  this  law  put  a  heavy  burden  on  the  com- 
panies it  was  changed  in  1881,  eliminating  the  pro- 
vision compelling  the  companies  to  maintain  the 
State  owned  wire,  and  providing  in  its  place  that  the 
companies  should  grant  to  the  Government  the  use 
of  one  wire  on  each  railroad  telegraph  line.  This 
obligation,  however,  was  not  fulfilled  on  the  part  of 
the  companies.  Moreover,  relying  upon  the  terms 
of  their  concessions,  the  railroads  gradually  became 
sharp  competitors  of  the  State  telegraph  and  diverted 
a  considerable  volume  of  traffic  from  the  State  lines 
by  offering  to  the  public  service  at  rates  lower  than 
those  charged  by  the  Telegraph  Administration. 
After  various  attempts  to  settle  this  unsatisfactory 
condition  the  Government,  on  October  7,  1896, 
enacted  law  No.  391  by  which  all  railroad  telegraph 
lines  became  an  integral  part  of  the  Federal  Tele- 
graph. This  act  stipulated  that  the  traffic  over 

23 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


railroad  telegraph  lines,  including  the  rates  to  be 
charged,  was  to  be  governed  by  the  rules  and  regu- 
lations of  the  Telegraph  Administration. 

The  years  1895  to  1907  constitute  a  period  during 
which  the  Telegraph  Administration  made  a  con- 
tinuous effort  to  find  a  rate  system  which  would 
lower  the  constantly  recurring  heavy  deficits  pro- 
duced by  this  branch  of  the  public  service,  and  at 
the  same  time  induce  the  public  to  make  a  far  more 
extensive  use  of  the  Federal  Telegraph.  Bearing  in 
mind  the  tremendous  area  of  Brazil  and  consequently 
the  need  of  providing  extremely  long  and  costly 
trunk  lines,  often  built  through  vast  and  almost  un- 
inhabited regions,  it  is  evident  that  the  task  of 
elaborating  a  tariff  system  which  adequately  covered 
the  cost  of  what  may  be  termed  a  short  and  a  long 
haul  telegraph  message  was  one  that  required  the 
exertion  of  the  utmost  ingenuity  on  the  part  of  the 
Legislature  and  therefore  many  tentative  rate  sched- 
ules were  tried,  the  most  important  of  which  are 
the  following: 

Law  No.  359  of  December  30,  1895,  which  reduced  to 
60  reis  (2  cents)  the  rate  per  word,  provided  a  basic  charge 
of  400  reis  (13.2  cents)  per  telegram,  and  made  the  total 
charge  of  a  message  dependent  upon  the  number  of  zones 
through  which  it  passed,  each  State  of  the  Federation  con- 
stituting a  telegraphic  zone. 

Law  No.  391  of  October  7,  1896,  conceded  a  reduction  of 
50%  to  telegrams  sent  by  State  officials,  and  law  No.  428 
of  December  10,  1896,  granted  press  messages  a  reduction 
of  75%  of  the  ordinary  rate. 

Law  No.  741  of  December  26,  1900,  reduced  the  rate  per 
word  from  1.50  francs  (30  cents)  to  1  franc  (20  cents)  for 
international  telegrams  exchanged  between  the  Republics 

24 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


south  of  Brazil  with  its  northern  zone,  and  to  0.50  francs 
(10  cents)  for  the  same  class  of  messages  exchanged  with  the 
zone  south  of  the  capital. 

Law  No.  813  of  December  23,  1901,  authorized  the  Gov- 
ernment to  introduce  deferred  messages  at  greatly  reduced 
rates.  The  schedule  for  this  class  of  telegrams  was  published 
in  1902  and  ranged  from  80  reis  (2.6  cents)  per  word  for  a 
telegram  passing  through  but  one  State  to  530  reis  (17.5 
cents)  per  word  for  a  message  traversing  the  entire  16  States 
of  the  Federation. 

Law  No.  1616  of  December  30,  1906,  abolished  the  use 
of  deferred  messages  and  adopted  the  following  rates  for 
domestic  telegrams: 

100  reis  per  word  for  a  message  within  1  State. 

200    "     "      "      "  "        "       passing  through  2  States. 

300    "     "      "      "  "        "  "  "       3     " 

4QQ         »  »  "  «       «  »  "  "  ^  " 

500    "     "      "      "  "        "  "       5     "      or  more. 

Law  No'  1837  of  December  31,  1907,  which  reduced  the 
five  rate  classes  of  the  1906  law  to  three,  was  as  follows: 

100  reis  per  word  for  a  message  within  1  State. 

200    "     "      "      "  "         "      passing  through  2  or  3  States. 

300    '  4  or  more  States. 

As  an  item  of  historical  interest  the  celebration 
in  1902  by  the  Telegraph  Administration  of  the  50th 
anniversary  of  the  inauguration  of  the  first  telegraph 
line  by  Dr.  Capanema  deserves  mention.  It  is  also 
of  interest  to  note  that  in  1904  the  exchange  of  a 
telegram  by  Morse  apparatus  took  place  between 
Rio  de  Janeiro  and  Chile  over  the  Trans-Andine 
line,  a  distance  of  about  7,000  kilometers  (4,347 
miles),  and  in  1906  the  operation  by  Baudot  rapid 
telegraph  apparatus  of  the  great  trunk  line  between 
Rio  Grande  and  Fortaleza,  a  distance  of  about  5,500 
kilometers  (3,415  miles). 

Except  for  the  development  of  the  radiotelegraph 
and  State  telephone  service,  which  subjects  are 

25 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


treated  in  separate  chapters,  the  Telegraph  Ad- 
ministration directed  its  efforts  from  1907  to  the 
outbreak  of  the  World  War  in  1914  largely  to  the 
further  expansion  of  the  Federal  lines,  the  better- 
ment of  the  living  conditions  of  the  employees,  and 
the  reorganization  of  the  staff  with  a  view  of  cutting 
down  the  annual  expenses  of  the  service. 

Early  in  1908  an  important  strategical  line  was 
started  to  connect  the  States  of  Matto  Grosso  and 
Amazonas.  This  is  a  fair  example  of  similar  long 
and  costly  lines  which  the  Federal  Administration 
felt  required  to  build  through  the  almost  uninhabited 
regions  of  the  distant  States.  In  his  annual  report 
for  1908  to  the  Minister  of  Ways  and  Public  Works, 
the  Director  General,  Luiz  van  Erven,  in  speaking 
of  the  above  line  states  that  the  majority  of  the 
laborers  employed  on  the  branch  lines  had  been  so 
badly  affected  with  malaria  that  they  had  to  be  laid 
off,  and  that  the  gang  working  on  the  main  line, 
under  the  direction  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Candido 
Rondo,  had  been  attacked  by  the  Indians  who  had 
fled  from  their  villages  at  the  approach  of  the  con- 
struction gang.  Only  the  liberal  distribution  of 
gifts  prevented  serious  loss  of  life  and  induced  the 
waning  Indians  to  return  to  their  homes. 

Aside  from  the  long  interruption  of  246  days  in 
telegraphic  communication  between  Belem  and 
Manaos,  owing  to  the  breaking  down  of  the  Amazon 
River  cable,  the  year  1908  is  noteworthy  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Brazilian  telegraph  because  during  that 
year  the  Government  granted  to  a  German  firm  an 
important  concession  for  laying  a  cable  between  the 
coast  of  Brazil  and  the  Island  of  Teneriffe,  connect- 

26 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


ing  at  that  point  with  the  cables  of  the  South 
American  Cable  Company  to  West  Africa.  Thus 
Brazil  obtained  a  new  telegraph  route  to  Central 
Europe  and  South  America  with  a  subsequent 
substantial  reduction  in  the  transatlantic  cable  rate. 
This  concession  was  transferred  to  the  Deutsch- 
Sudamerikanische  Telegraphengesellschaft  by  decree 
No.  7598  of  October  14, 1909. 

In  October  of  the  year  1909  the  Government 
granted  a  concession  to  Richard  J.  Reidy  for  laying  a 
cable  between  Belem  and  Nictheroy  and  from  Nic- 
theroy  to  Chuy.  This  concession  was  opposed  by 
the  Western  Telegraph  Company  which  demanded 
that  it  should  be  cancelled,  and  finally,  by  decree 
No.  10819  of  March  18,  1914,  the  concession  was 
declared  forfeited. 

During  1910  the  Telegraph  Administration  at 
last  completed  a  task  of  long  standing,  the  revision 
of  the  rules  and  regulations  established  by  decree 
No.  4053  of  June  24,  1901.  It  had  been  evident  for 
years  that  the  salary  expense  incident  to  the  manage- 
ment of  the  telegraph  had  been  exorbitant,  due  largely 
to  the  number  of  superfluous  highly  paid  officials. 
The  new  rules  and  regulations  divided  the  service 
into  four  groups  or  sections,  each  in  charge  of  a  sub- 
director,  and  eliminated  among  others  the  positions 
of  Vice  General  Director,  Assistant  Chief  of  the 
Technical  Section,  and  Assistant  Treasurer. 

The  subsequent  two  years,  1911  and  1912,  were 
rather  uneventful  as  far  as  the  telegraph  was  con- 
cerned, the  most  important  events  being  the  opening 
of  transatlantic  service  over  the  cable  of  the  Deutsch- 
Sudamerikanische  Telegraphengesellschaft  on  March 

27 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


29,  1911,  and  by  decree  No.  9616  of  June  13,  1912, 
the  introduction  of  deferred  international  telegrams 
at  a  50%  reduction  from  the  ordinary  rate. 

To  satisfy  the  demands  of  the  business  people 
who  were  continually  asking  for  cheaper  service,  the 
Legislature  in  authorizing  the  appropriation  bill 
for  1913  again  reduced  the  rates,  making  the  basic 
charge  for  a  domestic  telegram  500  reis  (16.5  cents) 
and  creating  two  rates  of  100  and  200  reis  respectively 
(3.3  and  6.6  cents)  for  a  message  passing  through 
one  or  more  than  one  State. 

The  immediate  result  of  this  reduction  in  the 
rates  was  a  heavy  increase  in  the  telegraph  deficit 
in  1914  over  that  in  1913,  the  1914  figure  totalling 
9,840  contos  ($3,247,000)  as  compared  with  9,282 
contos  ($3,063,000)  for  the  preceding  year.  Concern- 
ing the  loss  in  revenue,  the  Director  General  in  his 
annual  report  to  the  Minister  of  Ways  and  Public 
Works  writes:  "The  main  cause  of  the  decrease  of 
the  gross  receipts  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  extremely 
low  rates  and  the  fact  that  there  did  not  occur  the 
expected  corresponding  increase  in  traffic." 

During  the  first  year  of  the  World  War  the 
Brazilian  Telegraph  Administration,  as  well  as 
similar  departments  of  all  other  South  American 
Republics,  was  forced  to  restrict  its  efforts  primarily 
to  the  maintenance  of  the  existing  plant  which  in 
itself  was  a  difficult  problem  as  all  the  sources  of 
European  supplies  had  been  cut  off  and  the  price  of 
domestic  material  had  increased  enormously.  More- 
over, due  to  the  disruption  of  general  business  the 
Government  was  obliged  to  exercise  the  strictest 
economy  in  all  public  services.  Despite  these  con- 

28 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


ditions,  the  Director  General,  Euclides  Barroso,  in 
his  annual  report  for  1915  was  able  to  assure  the 
Government  that  the  plant  had  been  maintained  in 
perfect  working  condition. 

During  the  third  year  of  the  World  War  the 
Brazilian  Government  issued  decree  No.  3296  of 
July  10  1917,  which  made  the  radiotelegraph  and 
radiotelephone  services  the  exclusive  monopoly  of 
the  Federation  and  established  definite  rules  and 
regulations  for  these  services.  In  connection  with 
the  1917  annual  report  the  Telegraph  Administra- 
tion published  for  the  first  time  a  complete  list  of 
the  concessions  granted  by  the  Government  since 
1870  to  companies  and  private  parties  for  submarine 
and  subfluvial  cables.  This  is  one  of  the  most 
valuable  sources  of  information  available  on  that 
subject. 

Although  the  Telegraph  Administration  has  not 
issued  an  annual  report  since  1918,  it  appears  from 
the  last  Message  of  the  President  to  the  Brazilian 
Congress,  May  3,  1921,  that  the  financial  returns 
from  the  State  telegraph  service  have  greatly  im- 
proved during  the  past  2  or  3  years.  The  following 
paragraphs  are  taken  from  this  document: 

"The  telegraph  system  of  Brazil  reached  on  December 
31,  1920,  a  development  of  44,534  kilometers  (27,655  miles) 
of  pole  lines  with  79,791  kilometers  (49,550  miles)  of  wire 
conductors.  An  examination  of  our  telegraph  map  shows 
that  the  system  is  more  compact  in  the  States  of  Rio  Grande 
do  Sul,  Minas  Geraes,  and  Rio  de  Janeiro  than  in  northern 
Brazil.  The  central  part,  being  less  populated,  needs  fewer 
lines,  though  there  are  in  Matto  Grosso  about  4,500  kilo- 
meters (2,794  miles)  and  in  Goyaz  1,552  kilometers  (963 
miles)  of  wire.  The  inhabited  parts  of  the  States  of  Par& 

29 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


and  Amazonas  use  subfluvial  lines  and  the  radiotelegraphic 
stations,  which  render  a  great  service  to  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Territory  of  Acre. 

STATISTICS  OF  THE  BRAZILIAN  TELEGRAPH 
1890-1920 


Year 

Kilometers 
of  Wire 

Number  of 
Stations 

Number  of 
Telegrams 

Gross 
Revenue 
(milreis) 

Annual 
Deficit 
(milreis) 

1890 

20,299 

212 

750  621 

2,042,755 

841000 

1891  
1892 

28,268 
31,229 

233 
256 

1,001,535 
1,151,689 

2,765,899 
3,127,079 

909,000 
2,048,000 

1893  ...    . 

34,251 

272 

1,132,432 

3,256,873 

2,830,000 

1894  

35,494 

306 

1,280,824 

3,694,501 

4,084,000 

1895  

37,218 

338 

1,469,404 

3,915,538 

4,997,000 

1896  

39,779 

379 

1,667,026 

4,613,447 

4,715,000 

1897  

40,138 

372 

l,724,192f 

4,857,760 

3,356,000 

1898  

40,232 

371 

1,380,528 

6,666,917 

434,000 

1899  

40,352 

366 

1,371,914 

6,970,955 

535,000 

1900  

41,677 

390 

,353,675 

6,819,307 

642,000 

1901  

42,254 

403 

,163,522 

5,804,312 

1,708,000 

1902  

44,640 

426 

,201,849 

6,141,276 

1,490,000 

1903 

47359 

471 

373  974 

6,722,858 

1,112000 

1904 

49,384 

488 

524987 

7,347,003 

612000 

1905  
1906  
1907  
1908     .  .  . 

49,776 
51,286 
53,059 
54,817 

513 
531 
546 
578 

1,538,885 
1,745,848 
1,929,706 
2,249,586 

7,166,696 
8,097,172 
7,757,683 
7,847,584 

1,410,000 
2,045,000 
3,376,000 
4,270,000 

1909  

56,086 

597 

2,438,324 

8,309,981 

3,799,000 

1910  
1911  

57,140 
60,848 

630 
672 

2,788,906 
2,836,836 

9,748,017 
10,919,533 

3,326,000 
6,836,000 

1912  

61,681 

717 

3,680,026 

12,257,687 

7,589,000 

1913  

63,968 

740 

3,790,294 

11,363,056 

9,840,000 

1914  

68,082 

752 

3,974,562 

11,403,075 

9,282,000 

1915  

67,354 

729 

3,650,590 

14,378,547 

3,507,000 

1916 

70,439 

748 

3,930,144 

15,701,669 

2,892,000 

1917  
1918 

72,012 
72,658 

801 
857* 

4,405,450 
5,350,000* 

17,298,351 
19,000,000* 

1,968,000 

1919 

76,000* 

914* 

5,900,000* 

20,800,000* 

1920     

79,791 

971 

6,493,689 

22,625,642 

*  Estimated. 

t  For  years  subsequent  to  1897  international  telegrams  are  included. 

"In  1920,  6,493,689  telegrams  of  127,327,724  words 
were  sent  and  in  1915  only  3,487,670  telegrams  of  65,970,808 
words,  indicating  that  the  traffic  has  doubled  in  the  space  of 
five  years. 

30 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


"Last  year  1,1 14  kilometers  (691  miles)  of  lines  were  built 
and  26  telegraph  stations  were  opened  for  traffic.  The  971 
telegraph  stations  of  Brazil  produced  last  year  a  revenue  of 
22,625,641  milreis  ($7,466,000)  of  which  5,897,055  milreis 
($1,946,000)  represents  the  value  of  official  messages. 

"22,224,760  milreis  paper  ($7,334,000)  and  300,000  mil- 
reis gold  ($163,800)  were  expended  during  the  past  fiscal 
year  for  the  conservation  of  the  National  telegraph.  After 
deducting  the  cost  of  material  purchased  for  the  construc- 
tion of  new  lines  one  can  say  that  the  revenue  of  the  tele- 
graph in  Brazil  covered  the  expenses.  Five  years  ago,  in 
1914,  the  gross  revenue  of  the  telegraph  was  not  half  of  what 
it  was  in  1920,  while  in  addition,  the  expenses  in  1914  were 
20,685,144  milreis  ($6,826,000)  with  the  revenue  (excluding 
miscellaneous  receipts)  10,905,185  ($3,598,000)  resulting  in 
a  deficit  of  nearly  100%  of  the  revenue." 

"Gross  Revenue"  consists  of  revenue  from  paid  domestic 
and  international  telegrams,  value  of  official  telegrams,  radio- 
telegraph receipts,  State  telephone  revenue,  and  miscellane- 
ous receipts. 

"Annual  Deficit"  is  largely  due  to  the  inclusion  in  ex- 
penditures of  amounts  spent  yearly  for  new  construction  and 
material.  Deducting  this  item,  the  telegraph  revenue  would 
cover  expenses. 

CABLE   SERVICE 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  World  War  in  1914  the 
Republic  of  Brazil  had  four  separate  cable  routes 
connecting  it  with  the  outside  world,  as  follows: 

1.  Madeira  Line.  The  Madeira  line  is  operated 
by  the  Western  Telegraph  Company,  Ltd.,  which 
was  registered  at  London  January  8,  1873,  as  the 
Brazilian  Submarine  Telegraph  Company,  Ltd., 
the  name  being  changed  on  November  10,  1899,  to 
the  Western  Telegraph  Company,  Ltd.  This  cable 
starts  from  Recife  (State  of  Pernambuco)  and  goes 
via  Cape  Verde  Islands  and  Madeira  to  Carcavellos 

31 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


(near  Lisbon,  Portugal).  The  first  cable  connecting 
these  points  was  laid  in  1874  and  had  a  length  of 
3,750  nautical  miles.  A  second,  laid  in  1884,  shortened 
the  distance  to  3,657  nautical  miles.  The  Western 
Telegraph  Company,  Ltd.,  also  owns  and  operates 
a  number  of  submarine  coastal  cables  between  the 
cities  of  Para,  Maranhas,  Ceara,  Pernambuco,  Bahia, 
Rio  de  Janeiro,  Santos,  Florianopolis  and  Rio  Grande. 
From  the  latter  city  the  cable  goes  to  Montevideo 
(Uruguay).  The  longest  of  these  cables  are  from 
Para  to  Pernambuco,  with  1,242  nautical  miles,  and 
another  of  1,367  nautical  miles  from  Pernambuco  to 
Rio  de  Janeiro,  both  laid  in  1900. 

2.  Fernando  Noronha  Line.    By  decree  No.  128 
of  April  11,  1891,  the  Brazilian  Government  granted 
a  concession  to  the  India  Rubber,  Gutta  Percha  and 
Telegraph  Works  Company,  Ltd.,  for  the  laying  of 
a  cable  between  Pernambuco  and  Senegal  (Africa). 
Decree  No.  965A  of  June  30,  1892,  permitted  the 
concessionaire  to  transfer  his  rights  to  the  South 
American  Cable  Company,  Ltd.,  registered  at  Lon- 
don July  4,  1891.     The  cable  starts  from  Recife, 
touches  at  the  Island  of  F.  Noronha,  and  then  con- 
tinues to  Dakar  (Senegal).    The  length  of  this  cable, 
which  was  laid  in  1892,  is  348  nautical  miles  from 
Recife  to  F.  Noronha  and  1,620  nautical  miles  from 
F.  Noronha  to  Dakar,  making  a  total  length  of 
1,968  nautical  miles. 

3.  Salinas  Line.    This  cable  is  operated  by  the 
Compagnie   Frangaise   des   Cables   Telegraphiques 
which   received   a   concession   from   the   Brazilian 
Government  by  decree  No.  216A  of  February  22, 
1890,  authorizing  the  Societe  Generate  des  Tele- 

32 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


phones  and  the  Societe  Frangaise  des  Telegraphes 
Sous-Marins  to  establish  telegraphic  connection  be- 
tween the  city  of  Vizeu  (State  of  Para)  and  the  coast 
of  the  United  States  of  North  America.  The  life 
of  the  concession  was  for  25  years.  At  Santiago  de 
Cuba  this  cable  connects  with  those  of  the  West 
India  and  Panama  Telegraph  Company  and  at 
Guantanamo  (Cuba)  connects  with  the  cables  of 
the  All  America  Cables  system  which  go  to  New 
York.  This  line  was  opened  for  service  on  Septem- 
ber 1,  1892.  The  most  important  routes  operated 
by  the  Compagnie  Frangaise  des  Cables  Telegraph- 
iques  are: 

Salinas  to  Cayenne  (Fr.  Guiana) 505  naut  cal  miles 

Cayenne  to  Paramaribo  (Dutch  Guiana) 268 

Paramaribo  to  Fort  de  France  (Martinique) 700 

Fort  de  France  to  Charlotte-Amelie  (St.  Thomas) 372 

Charlotte- Amelie  to  Puerto  Plata  (Dominican  Republic)  409 

Puerto  Plata  to  Cap  Haitien  (Haiti) 116 

Cap  Haitien  to  St.  Nicholas  (Haiti) 96 

St.  Nicholas  to  Guantanamo  (Cuba) 119 

4.  Teneriffe  Line.  This  cable  formerly  belonged 
to  the  Deutsch-Sudamerikanische  Telegraphengesell- 
schaft  which  prior  to  the  World  War  ^pei-ated  five 
cables  with  a  total  length  of  7,386  nautical  miles. 
The  original  concession  was  granted  by  decree  No. 
7,051  of  July  30,  1908,  to  Felten  &  Guilleaume- 
Lahmeyerwerke  Actien-Gesellschaft.  A  second  de- 
cree (No.  7598  of  October  14,  1908)  permitted  the 
concessionaire  to  transfer  his  rights  to  the  Deutsch- 
Sudamerikanische  Telegraphengesellschaft.  The 
route  of  the  cable  was: 

Island  of  Borkum  (near  Emden)  to  Teneriffe  (Canary 

Islands) 2,107  nautical  miles 

Teneriffe  to  Monrovia  (Liberia,  Africa) 1,798 

Monrovia  to  Pernambuco  (Brazil) 1,873 

33 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


Service  over  this  route  commenced  on  March 
29,  1911. 

In  none  of  the  South  American  countries  having 
an  extensive  seacoast  was  the  early  need  of  rapid 
telegraphic  intercommunication  between  the  im- 
portant commercial  cities  felt  more  intensely  than 
in  Brazil,  where  the  Atlantic  Ocean  forms  the  natural 
boundary  on  the  east  and  also  on  the  north  for  a 
distance  of  about  5,000  miles  from  the  frontier  of 
Dutch  Guiana  to  the  boundary  line  of  Uruguay. 

The  Telegraph  Administration  of  Brazil  fully 
recognized  the  importance  of  providing  rapid  tele- 
graphic communication  between  the  coastal  cities 
and  the  capital,  but  was  deterred  by  the  enormous 
expense  of  constructing  land  lines  over  such  vast 
distances  with  difficult  engineering  problems  to  be 
met.  The  need  for  submarine  cables  became  more 
and  more  pronounced  as  the  commerce  and  indus- 
tries of  these  seacoast  cities  increased  by  leaps  and 
bounds,  making  such  inland  lines  as  had  been  built 
entirely  inadequate  to  take  care  of  the  volume  of  tele- 
graphic traffic.  Consequently,  when  various  foreign 
interests  proposed  to  the  Government  the  intercon- 
nection by  submarine  cables  of  the  capital  with  im- 
portant seacoast  cities  to  the  north  and  south  their 
offer  was  readily  accepted,  for  at  that  time  the 
country  was  not  financially  able  to  do  the  work 
itself.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  if  the  Govern- 
ment had  foreseen  the  injurious  competition  which 
later  developed  between  the  submarine  cable  com- 
panies and  the  established  inland  telegraph  lines, 
the  granting  of  permits  for  the  laying  of  such  cables 
would  have  been  more  narrowly  restricted  than  it  was. 

34 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


It  has  been  stated  in  the  beginning  of  this  chapter 
that  at  the  present  date  of  writing  the  Western 
Telegraph  Company,  Ltd.,  owns  and  operates  not 
only  the  Madeira  cable  but  also  the  various  coastal 
cables  to  the  north  and  south  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and 
also  that  prior  to  1899  this  company  was  known  as 
the  Brazilian  Submarine  Telegraph  Company,  Ltd. 
In  that  year,  by  decree  No.  3307,  the  Brazilian 
Government  authorized  the  amalgamation  of  the 
Brazilian  Submarine  Telegraph  Company,  Ltd., 
with  the  Western  and  Brazilian  Telegraph  Com- 
pany, Ltd.,  the  new  company  being  called  the  West- 
ern Telegraph  Company,  Ltd.  Through  such  amal- 
gamation the  latter  company  became  the  owner  of 
two  basic  concessions  granted  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  Brazil,  namely,  the  concession  granted  by 
decree  No.  4491  of  March  23,  1870,  to  Charles  T. 
Bright,  and  the  one  granted  by  decree  No.  5058  of 
August  16,  1872,  to  Baron  Maua. 

The  subsequent  data  have  been  added  to  show 
through  how  many  companies  these  concessions 
passed  until  they  were  finally  combined  under  the 
management  of  the  Western  Telegraph  Company, 
Ltd. 

Decree  No.  4491  of  March  23,  1870,  granted  to  Charles 
T.  Bright,  E.  B.  Webb,  and  William  F.  Jones  a  60-year  ex- 
clusive concession  to  lay  and  operate  two  submarine  cables, 
both  starting  from  the  capital,  one  extending  north  to  Para 
(province  of  Para)  and  the  other  south  to  S.  Pedro  (province 
of  Rio  Grande  do  Sul). 

Decree  No.  5234  of  March  24, 1873,  authorized  the  trans- 
fer of  the  original  concession  (decree  No.  4491)  to  the  Tele- 
graph Construction  and  Maintenance  Company,  Ltd. 

35 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


Decree  No.  5270  of  April  26,  1873,  authorized  the  re- 
newal of  the  contract  made  with  Charles  T.  Bright  and 
others,  and  transferred  to  the  Telegraph  Construction  and 
Maintenance  Company,  Ltd.,  for  the  construction  of  sub- 
marine cable  lines  to  the  north  and  south  of  the  capital. 
Attached  to  decree  No.  5270  were  new  stipulations  concern- 
ing the  time  limit  for  establishing  cable  communication  be- 
tween the  capital  and  the  northern  and  southern  terminals. 

Decree  No.  5489  of  December  10,  1873,  authorized  the 
Western  and  Brazilian  Telegraph  Company,  Ltd.,  to  do  busi- 
ness in  Brazil. 

Decree  No.  5359  of  January  31, 1874,  approved  the  trans- 
fer to  the  Western  and  Brazilian  Telegraph  Company, 
Ltd.,  of  the  concession  granted  to  the  Telegraph  Construc- 
tion and  Maintenance  Company,  Ltd. 

Decree  No.  5545  of  February  7,  1874,  authorized  the 
Western  and  Brazilian  Telegraph  Company,  Ltd.,  to  extend 
the  submarine  cable  from  the  city  of  Para  to  Cayenne 
(French  Guiana)  and  Surinam.  Work  must  be  commenced 
within  5  months  and  be  entirely  finished  within  7  years. 

Decree  No.  5971  of  July  21,  1875,  authorized  the  West 
India  and  Panama  Telegraph  Company,  Ltd.,  to  operate  in 
Brazil,  and  accepted  the  transfer  to  this  company  of  the 
concession  granted  by  decree  No.  5545  to  the  Western  and 
Brazilian  Telegraph  Company,  Ltd. 

Decree  No.  6874  of  April  6, 1878,  extended  the  time  limit 
for  finishing  the  submarine  cable  line  to  northern  Brazil, 
as  stipulated  in  decree  No.  5270. 

Decree  No.  7105  of  December  3, 1878,  again  extended  the 
time  limit,  this  time  for  six  months  from  October  6,  1878. 

Decree  No.  7814  of  August  31, 1880,  granted  a  concession 
to  the  Western  and  Brazilian  Telegraph  Company,  Ltd.,  to 
extend  its  submarine  cable  from  Para  to  the  Guianas  (see 
decree  No.  5545). 

Decree  No.  9184  of  April  12,  1884,  declared  the  conces- 
sion granted  by  decree  No.  7814  forfeited. 

36 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


Decree  No.  944  of  November  7,  1890.  The  Provisional 
Government  granted  a  concession  to  the  Western  and 
Brazilian  Telegraph  Company,  Ltd.,  to  lay  a  second  sub- 
marine cable  along  the  coast  of  Brazil,  following  the  route 
of  the  cable  already  laid. 

Decree  No.  3307  of  June  6, 1899,  authorized  the  amalga- 
mation of  the  Brazilian  Submarine  Telegraph  Company, 
Ltd.,  and  the  Western  and  Brazilian  Telegraph  Company, 
Ltd.,  the  new  company  to  be  known  as  the  Western  Tele- 
graph Company,  Ltd. 

The  Western  Telegraph  Company,  Ltd.,  therefore  holds 
all  the  rights  and  privileges  granted  under  decree  No.  5270 
of  April  26,  1873,  and  decree  No.  944  of  November  1,  1890. 

Decree  No.  3557  of  January  16,  1900,  authorized  the 
Western  Telegraph  Company,  Ltd.,  to  do  business  in  Brazil. 

WIRELESS  TELEGRAPH 

In  1902  Joaquim  Gongalves  de  Lalor,  an  engineer 
acting  as  representative  for  R.  Mardock,  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States,  applied  to  the  governors  of  the 
States  of  Para  and  Amazonas  for  a  concession  per- 
mitting him  to  install  wireless  telegraph  stations 
along  the  rivers  Tocantine,  Purus,  Madeira  and 
Amazonas,  and  cited  in  support  of  his  request  the 
frequent  interruptions  of  telegraphic  communica- 
tion between  the  coast  and  these  States  because  of 
the  faulty  working  of  the  submarine  cable  operated 
by  the  English  company.  R.  Mardock,  through 
J.  G.  de  Lalor,  received  such  concession  in  1904  and 
transferred  it  to  the  Amazon  Wireless  Telegraph 
and  Telephone  Company,  a  corporation  chartered 
in  the  State  of  Maine,  U.  S.  A.  This  company  erected 
wireless  stations  in  1905,  using  the  Fessenden  system, 
in  Pinheiro  (about  11  miles  from  Belem)  and  at 

37 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


Breves  (about  80  miles  from  Pinheiro).  On  account 
of  imperfect  transmission  the  Breves  station  was 
dismantled  in  the  following  year  and  the  Pinheiro 
station  was  moved  to  Belem.  At  the  same  time  the 
system  invented  by  Shoemaker  and  Stone  was  in- 
stalled in  place  of  the  Fessenden  system.  Having 
succeeded  in  securing  this  concession  from  the  States 
of  Para  and  Amazonas,  J.  G.  de  Lalor  asked  the 
National  Congress  for  authority  to  establish  wireless 
service  between  these  two  States.  The  Chamber  of 
Deputies  referred  the  petition  to  a  commission  which 
on  August  2,  1905,  reported  adversely  on  the  ground 
that  such  concession  would  interfere  with  the  tele- 
graph monopoly  of  the  Federation.  Despite  this 
adverse  report  the  American  company  continued  its 
work  in  the  State  of  Para  and  installed  another  wire- 
less station  at  Santarem,  about  460  miles  from  Belem, 
which  distance,  however,  proved  to  be  too  great  for 
maintaining  regular  service  between  these  two  points. 
In  1905  Jose  L.  L.  de  Souza  requested  the  Govern- 
ment for  a  50-year  concession  to  establish  wireless 
stations  within  the  entire  territory  of  the  Republic, 
which  petition  was  rejected,  owing  to  objections 
raised  by  the  State  Telegraph  Administration. 
Various  other  requests  like  the  foregoing  at  last 
called  the  attention  of  the  Brazilian  legislators  to  the 
fact  that  no  law  had  yet  been  enacted  governing  the 
installation  and  use  of  wireless  stations  within  the 
National  territory.  To  clarify  this  situation  Dr. 
Gracho  Cardoso,  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Depu- 
ties from  the  State  of  Ceara,  presented  a  bill  to  the 
Legislature  on  November  6,  1907,  as  follows: 

"Article  1:  The  installation  of  wireless  apparatus  and 

38 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


the  exploitation  of  that  service  is  the  exclusive  monopoly  of 
the  Government: 

"Article  2:  Concessions  may  be  granted  to  the  States, 
or  to  private  parties,  for  the  installation  and  operation  of 
wireless  telegraphy,  it  being  understood,  however,  that  the 
Government  may  at  any  time,  and  without  incurring  any 
liability,  close  or  operate  such  installations,  or  temporarily 
prohibit  their  operation." 

The  above  constituted  the  first  attempt  to  secure 
for  the  Government  the  monopoly  of  the  wireless 
telegraph  service,  but  the  bill  was  not  passed. 

In  1911  the  Amazon  Wireless  Telegraph  and 
Telephone  Company  established  wireless  stations  in 
Manaos,  Santarem  and  Belem,  with  modern  wireless 
apparatus  which  had  been  purchased  from  the  Tele- 
funken  Company  of  New  York.  On  April  26,  1911, 
decree  No.  8186  was  passed,  authorizing  the  Amazon 
Wireless  Telegraph  and  Telephone  Company  to 
operate  wireless  stations  throughout  Brazil.  This 
decree  was  issued  only  after  several  other  attempts 
to  obtain  wireless  telegraph  concessions  from  the 
Federal  Government  had  failed. 

While  so  far  no  mention  has  been  made  of  the 
entrance  of  the  Brazilian  Telegraph  Administration 
into  the  field  of  wireless  telegraphy,  the  Administra- 
tion had  by  no  means  remained  inactive.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  experimental  trials  had  been  under- 
taken in  1904  between  a  station  in  the  fortress  of 
Santa  Cruz  and  a  receiving  station  which  had  been 
installed  on  Grande  Island,  the  distance  between 
the  two  points  being  about  68  miles.  Experiments 
were  continued  during  the  next  two  years,  both  with 
wireless  transmission  between  land  lines  and  be- 
tween land  and  ship  stations.  By  1907  the  progress 

39 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


which  had  been  made  led  the  Telegraph  Administra- 
tion to  report  favorably  on  wireless  telegraph  to  the 
President.  In  the  same  year  (May  15,  1907)  the 
President  submitted  to  the  National  Congress  the 
protocol  of  the  International  Wireless  Convention 
of  Berlin,  with  the  recommendation  that  Brazil 
should  join  the  Convention  and  in  November,  1907, 
by  decree  No.  1775,  the  National  Congress  approved 
this  recommendation. 

The  rapidly  increasing  use  of  wireles  transmis- 
sion led  the  1908  National  Congress  to  attach  to  the 
bill  which  authorized  the  appropriations  for  the 
ensuing  year  a  demand  for  the  appointment  of  a 
technical  commission  to  inaugurate  wireless  tele- 
graph service  in  Brazil.  This  commission  was  made 
up  of  representatives  chosen  by  the  Ministry  of  In- 
dustries, Ways  and  Public  Works,  and  the  Ministries 
of  War  and  Navy,  and  the  work  entrusted  to  them 
was  so  successfully  performed  that  by  the  end  of  the 
year  the  draft  of  a  new  law  specifying  the  rules  and 
regulations  for  governing  the  wireless  telegraph  ser- 
vice was  laid  before  the  Government.  This  proposed 
law  was  passed  by  decree  No.  8542  of  February 
1,  1911. 

In  March  of  the  year  1909  the  Telegraph  Adminis- 
tration began  the  erection  of  a  wireless  station  to  re- 
place the  semaphore  office  on  Babylonian  Hill. 
Upon  the  completion  of  this  work  on  July  14,  1909, 
the  Administration  vigorously  applied  itself  to  the 
installation  of  three  additional  wireless  stations.  Of 
these,  Amaralina  (State  of  Bahia)  was  opened  for 
public  service  on  August  9,  1910,  Olinda  on  October 
22,  1910,  and  the  high  power  station  of  Noronha, 

40 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


with  a  sending  radius  of  1,000  nautical  miles,  on 
November  15,  1910.  Statistics  published  in  the 
report  of  the  Telegraph  Director  for  1910  give  the 
number  of  wireless  messages  transmitted  during 
1909  and  1910  as  310  and  3,711  respectively. 

During  1911  the  Government  began  the  con- 
struction of  two  important  stations,  one  in  Juncgao 
(State  of  Rio  Grande  do  Sul)  and  the  other  in  Lagoa 
(Island  of  Santa  Catharina),  both  of  which  were 
opened  on  August  12,  1912.  A  smaller  station  at 
Monte  Serrat  (Santos)  was  placed  in  service  on  July 
14,  1911. 

In  1913  the  Administration  created  the  radio- 
telegraph district  of  Amazonas,  with  headquarters 
in  Manaos,  which  included  the  9  radiotelegraph 
stations  located  in  the  States  of  Para,  Amazonas,  and 
in  the  Territory  of  Acre. 

At  the  end  of  the  year  another  proposed  law  for 
regulating  the  wireless  telegraph  service  was  pre- 
sented to  the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  After  an  ex- 
haustive discussion  it  was  approved  by  the  Legisla- 
ture and  embodied  in  decree  No.  3296  of  July  10, 
1917.  This  law  places  the  radiotelegraph  and  radio- 
telephone services  within  the  territory  of  Brazil  and 
its  territorial  waters  under  the  exclusive  control  and 
jurisdiction  of  the  Brazilian  Government.  It  fur- 
ther provides  that  the  establishment  and  operation 
of  radiotelegraph  stations  for  public  use  shall  be 
under  the  Ministry  of  Communications  and  Public 
Works,  except  where  applied  to  the  service  of  national 
defense,  when  they  shall  be  under  the  Ministries  of 
War  and  Navy.  Though  possessing  the  monopoly 
of  wireless  communication,  the  law  permits  the 

41 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


Government  to  grant  to  persons  of  Brazilian  national- 
ity concessions  (without  any  special  privileges,  how- 
ever) to  install  and  operate  one  or  more  high-power 
stations  at  suitable  places  on  the  coast,  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  carrying  on  international  and  interterri- 
torial  communication  with  similar  stations  in  other 
countries.  All  such  stations  must  be  connected  with 
one  of  the  National  telegraph  offices  which  shall  have 
charge  of  the  collection  and  distribution  of  the  in- 
ternational wireless  service  and  shall  receive  the 
terminal  rate  pertaining  to  the  same. 

The  States  of  the  Federation,  not  yet  served  by 
the  telegraph,  which  desire  to  establish  radiotele- 
graph stations  within  their  territory  are  required  to 
entrust  both  the  installation  and  operation  of  the 
same  to  the  General  Department  of  Telegraphs 

A  considerable  portion  of  the  law  of  July  10,  1917, 
deals  with  the  use  of  wireless  apparatus  on  board 
ships,  and  makes  its  use  obligatory  on  certain  types 
of  vessels.  It  concludes  with  the  provision  that  the 
Brazilian  radiotelegraph  service  is  to  be  governed  by 
the  rules  authorized  by  the  International  Conven- 
tion of  London  and  such  other  regulations  as  shall  be 
issued  in  connection  with  the  execution  of  the  present 
law.  Furthermore,  it  provides  that  the  Ministry  of 
Communications  and  Public  Works  shall  have  charge 
of  all  measures  for  establishing  wireless  service  with 
adjoining  countries,  and  shall  establish  bases  for 
treaties  with  such  countries,  which  treaties,  however, 
must  be  submitted  to  the  National  Congress  for 
approval. 

In  1921,  in  accordance  with  the  above  law,  the 
Companhia  Radiographica  do  Brazil  received  a  con- 

42 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


cession  to  install  and  operate  high-power  radio 
stations  for  direct  communication  with  the  Americas 
and  Europe.  This  concession,  which  is  for  a  period 
of  45  years,  grants  no  monopoly  nor  special  privi- 
leges of  any  kind  and  restricts  operations  to  inter- 
national service,  communications  between  localities 
within  the  National  territory  being  prohibited.  The 
first  two  stations  are  to  be  established  in  the  cities 
of  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  Belem. 

The  rate  charged  for  wireless  service  within  the 
National  territory,  as  officially  fixed  by  decree  No. 
3441  of  September  15,  1921,  is  200  reis  (6.6  cents) 
per  word  in  addition  to  a  basic  charge  of  1  milreis 
(33  cents)  per  message. 

The  1916  report  of  the  Telegraph  Administration 
contains  the  following  statistics  relating  to  the  wire- 
less stations  in  operation  in  Brazil: 

WIRELESS  STATIONS  IN  BRAZIL  FOR  PUBLIC  USE, 
JANUARY  1,  1917 

Working  Limit 

(a)  Coast  Stations  (Nautical  Miles) 

Amaralina State  of  Bahia  400 

Babylonia City  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  200 

Belem State  of  Para  400 

Fernando  de  Noronha Island  of  F.  Noronha  1,000 

Juncgao State  of  Rio  Grande  do  Sul  750 

Monte  Serrat State  of  Sao  Paulo  200 

Olinda State  of  Pernambuco  590 

S.  Thome State  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  750 

(b)  Inland  Stations 

Cruzeiro  do  Sul Acre  Territory  400 

Manaos Acre  Territory .  750 

Porto  Velho State  of  Matto  Grosso  750 

Rio  Branco Acre  Territory  210 

Santarem State  of  Para  400 

Senna  Madureira Acre  Territory  400 

Tarauaca Acre  Territory  210 

Xapury Acre  Territory  210 

In  addition  to  the  above,  the  Ministry  of  Marine 
operates  nine,  and  the  Ministry  of  War  seven  wire- 
less stations,  which  are  for  official  use  only. 

43 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


STATE  TELEPHONE 

When  it  is  recalled  that  it  was  Dom  Pedro  de 
Alcantara,  the  Emperor  of  Brazil,  who  at  the  Cen- 
tennial Exposition  in  Philadelphia  in  1876,  after 
hearing  the  human  voice  over  the  telephone,  made 
the  historic  exclamation,  "My  God,  it  talks !"  it 
seems  strange  that  upon  his  return  to  Brazil  he 
should  have  permitted  such  an  epoch  making  in- 
vention to  remain  almost  inactive  in  the  hands  of  the 
officials  in  charge  of  the  transmission  of  intelligence 
by  electricity. 

The  "Memoria  Historica,"  under  the  head  of 
"Telephone  Service/ 'states  that  the  construction  of 
telephone  lines  began  in  Brazil  in  1879,  in  which  year 
the  Government  also  granted  the  first  concession  for 
the  commercial  use  of  the  telephone.  While  this 
date  is  doubtless  correct  for  the  construction  of  the 
first  State  telephone  line,  which  was  built  between 
the  police  headquarters  and  those  of  the  fire  depart- 
ment in  the  city  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  it  is  also  true  that 
private  telephone  lines  existed  as  early  as  1877,  as 
will  be  shown  in  the  chapter  dealing  with  private 
telephone  service. 

The  writer  of  the  "Memoria  Historica"  next 
refers  to  the  policy  of  the  Government  of  granting 
concessions  for  telephone  lines  to  private  parties 
and  declares  that  from  the  very  start  this  policy  was 
wrong.  ("Logo  en  seu  inicio  o  systema  de  conces- 
soes  de  linhas  telephonicas  a  particulars  provou 
mal.")  This  condemnation  was  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  Government,  at  the  time  that  private  telephone 
line  construction  started,  failed  to  issue  ordinances 
for  the  protection  of  the  National  telegraph  and  fire 

44 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


alann  lines  against  damage  by  adjacent  telephone 
lines.  To  remedy  this  oversight  and  to  prevent 
further  trouble  the  Legislature  of  1880  passed  a  reso- 
lution which  assigned  to  the  Telegraph  Administra- 
tion the  construction  of  all  private  telephone  lines. 
Foreseeing  the  commercial  importance  of  the  new 
rival  the  Director  of  Telegraphs  advised  the  Govern- 
ment against  granting  any  further  licenses,  and 
though  no  proper  authorization  to  uphold  this  policy 
was  obtained,  thereafter  all  requests  for  the  con- 
struction of  private  telephone  lines  were  refused. 

By  1881  the  Brazilian  State  Council  was  consider- 
ing the  decision  of  the  English  Government,  namely, 
that  the  telephone  was  of  the  same  nature  as  the  tele- 
graph and  should  therefore  be  the  monopoly  of  the 
Government.  The  Council  adopted  the  same  view 
and  embodied  it  in  a  formal  resolution,  with  the  pro- 
viso, however,  that  the  Government  might  grant 
concessions  for  the  construction  of  private  telephone 
lines,  and  by  a  circular  letter  dated  May  6,  1881,  so 
advised  the  governors  of  the  various  provinces.  How- 
ever, a  decree  of  May  24, 1882,  issued  by  the  Ministry 
in  charge  of  communications,  declared  that  no 
further  concessions  for  the  building  of  telephone  lines 
would  be  granted  and  that  all  pending  applications 
were  rejected.  The  situation  was  finally  cleared  by 
decree  No.  8935  of  April  25,  1883,  which  established 
rules  and  regulations  governing  subsequent  telephone 
concessions.  Although  this  legislation  was  intended 
to  protect  the  monopoly  of  the  Government,  it  failed 
in  practice,  largely  on  account  of  the  laxity  of  various 
provincial  authorities  in  upholding  and  enforcing  it. 

During  1885  the  Telegraph  Administration  tested 

45 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


the  Van  Rysselbergh  system  of  simultaneous  teleg- 
raphy and  telephony,  but  found  the  results  un- 
satisfactory. 

Nothing  of  particular  importance  happened  in 
connection  with  the  State  telephone  during  the  four 
years  following  1885.  In  speaking  of  the  year  1889, 
when  Brazil  adopted  the  republican  form  of  govern- 
ment, the  writer  of  the  "Memoria  Historica"  de- 
scribes the  condition  of  the  State  telephone  service 
as  follows:  "Era  essa  a  situagao  quando  se  extinguiu 
o  antigo  regimen.  O  servigo  telephonico  no  Brazil 
estava  ainda  na  infancia."  (This  was  the  situation 
when  the  former  Goyernment  ceased  to  exist.  The 
telephone  service  of  Brazil  was  then  in  its  infancy.) 
If  this  is  meant  to  apply  to  the  State  telephone  ser- 
vice only,  no  one  will  dispute  its  correctness,  but  at 
that  time  the  private  telephone  service  had  already 
developed  to  a  considerable  extent. 

The  decrees  of  February  6,  May  2,  and  Novem- 
ber 20,  1890,  have  already  been  discussed  in  the 
chapter  dealing  with  the  telegraph  under  the  re- 
publican government,  as  well  as  the  practical  diffi- 
culties which  arose  from  the  conflicting  legislation 
which  was  enacted.  These,  however,  were  removed 
upon  the  promulgation  of  the  new  constitution.  The 
latter  authorized  the  Telegraph  Administration  to 
engage  in  urban  as  well  as  interurban  telephone 
service,  but  without  interfering  with  rights  already 
acquired  by  private  companies;  likewise  it  gave  the 
Administration  the  authority  to  build  special  tele- 
phone lines  for  the  collection  and  distribution  of 
telegraph  messages  and  to  install  telephone  toll 
stations  for  public  use. 

46 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


The  Telegraph  Administration  as  early  as  1884 
had  opened  a  small  local  exchange  as  an  experiment 
in  the  city  of  Maceio  (State  of  Alagoas)  and  con- 
tinued this  service  for  eight  years.  In  1892  the  ex- 
change was  closed  but  reopened  shortly  thereafter. 
It  was  finally  abandoned  December  1,  1896,  and  the 
apparatus  and  line  material  were  offered  for  sale  at 
public  auction.  Aside  from  the  telephone  exchange 
in  the  capital,  this  has  been  the  only  venture  on  the 
part  of  the  Administration  to  establish  a  telephone 
exchange. 

State  telephone  service  in  Rio  de  Janeiro  became 
definitely  established  upon  the  promulgation  by  the 
Provisional  Government  of  decree  No.  1043  of 
November  20,  1890,  which  also  created  a  distinct 
telephone  district.  At  that  time  there  existed  two 
small  telephone  centrals  in  the  capital,  one  in  the 
building  occupied  by  the  Telegraph  Administration 
to  which  69  lines  were  connected,  and  the  other  in 
the  War  and  Navy  building  with  37  lines  for  the 
exclusive  use  of  the  Minister  of  War.  In  addition  to 
these  Government  owned  and  constructed  lines, 
there  existed  in  the  city  various  private  telephone 
lines. 

Service  over  the  Government  lines  reached  only 
to  the  Fazenda  de  Santa  Cruz.  The  plant  had  been 
constructed  with  such  material  as  happened  to  be  on 
hand,  with  the  result  that  the  poles  were  small  and 
like  those  employed  for  the  telegraph,  while  the 
conductors  consisted  merely  of  galvanized  iron  wire 
of  2  mm.  diameter.  Naturally  lines  built  in  such 
haphazard  manner  deteriorated  very  quickly  so  that 
the  Administration  was  constantly  called  upon  to 

47 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


rebuild  parts  of  them  at  a  heavy  expense  to  the 
Treasury.  To  avoid  such  unnecessary  labor  and 
expense  the  Administration  reconstructed  the  plant 
in  1896  at  a  cost  of  100,000  milreis  ($33,000),  re- 
placing the  old  poles  with  larger  and  better  ones  and 
attaching  the  conductors  to  porcelain  insulators  of 
good  quality.  As  the  service  was  considerably  im- 
proved thereby  the  municipality  turned  over  to  the 
Administration  the  lines  used  for  fire  alarm  purposes. 
Up  to  then  the  telephone  service  had  been  split 
up  between  the  Telegraph  Administration  and  the 
Ministry  of  War,  and  the  latter  had  organized  and 
paid  for  the  special  purpose  of  operating,  construct- 
ing and  maintaining  telephone  lines.  Due  to  the 
increasing  number  of  lines  for  the  light  and  power 
circuits  of  the  private  companies,  the  single  wire 
telephone  lines  of  the  Government  suffered  severely 
from  induction  which  finally  made  it  necessary  to 
use  metallic  circuits.  Replacement  of  the  single 
wire  lines  by  metallic  circuits  began  in  1906  but  was 
suspended  in  1907  when  the  Administration  found 
out  that  it  would  save  much  time  and  money  by 
closing  a  contract  with  the  Brazilianische  Electrici- 
tats-Gesellschaft  for  the  furnishing  of  official  tele- 
phone service.  All  these  official  lines  were  connected 
to  three  centrals,  one  in  the  building  occupied  by  the 
Telegraph  Administration,  the  second  in  the  square 
known  as  Largo  do  Machado,  and  the  third  in  the 
rua  de  S.  Christovao.  In  addition  to  these  three 
there  were  four  other  centrals  used  by  the  Ministry 
of  War  and  Navy,  police  headquarters,  and  the 
general  police.  During  1908  the  work  of  providing 
underground  conduits  for  the  Government  telephone 

48 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


lines  progressed  slowly,  and  but  3  kilometers  (1.8 
miles)  were  added  to  the  5  kilometers  (3.1  miles) 
which  had  been  completed  in  the  preceding  year. 

The  statistics  published  in  the  annual  report  of 
the  Telegraph  Department  for  the  year  1908  men- 
tion a  total  of  762  subscribers  on  December  31,  1908, 
as  compared  with  680  on  December  31,  1907,  with  a 
total  of  3,010  kilometers  (1,869  miles)  of  telephone 
wire  at  the  close  of  1908  as  compared  with  2,738 
kilometers  (1,700  miles)  in  the  preceding  year. 

The  only  noteworthy  event  in  connection  with  the 
telephone  service  during  1909  was  the  giving  of  an 
order  to  the  firm  of  Siemens  Brothers  of  London 
for  a  400-line  central  battery  switchboard  with  lamp 
signals,  which 'required  the  use  of  metallic  circuits. 

During  the  year  1910  the  Telegraph  Administra- 
tion constructed  a  telephone  line  between  Rio  de 
Janeiro  and  Petropolis,  a  distance  of  53.8  kilometers 
(33  miles)  consisting  of  303  kilometers  (188  miles)  of 
wire,  and  also  aline  between  Petropolis  and  Therezop- 
olis,  a  distance  of  42.5  kilometers  (26  miles)  con- 
sisting of  86.6  kilometers  (53  miles)  of  wire. 

Fearing  that  the  Federal  Government  intended 
to  furnish  the  public  with  telephone  service  between 
the  capital,  Nictheroy,  Petropolis  and  Therezopolis, 
the  Brazilianische  Electricitats-Gesellschaft  ap- 
pealed to  the  Government  that,  because  of  its  con- 
tract with  the  municipality,  the  company  possessed 
the  exclusive  right  to  furnish  telephone  service  within 
the  municipal  area  and  that  consequently  a  Govern- 
ment interurban  service  would  infringe  upon  the 
concession  to  the  Interurban  Telephone  Company 
of  Brazil,  a  licensee  of  the  complainant,  which  had 

49 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


been  authorized  to  provide  telephone  service  within 
the  State  of  Rio  de  Janeiro.  To  strengthen  the  ar- 
gument the  complainant  pointed  out  that  the  inter- 
urban  company  had  also  received  a  permit  to  lay 
a  submarine  telephone  cable  between  the  capital  and 
Nictheroy.  Since  the  constitution  authorized  the 
Government  to  furnish  interurban  service,  the  com- 
plaint of  the  Brazilianische  Electricitats-Gesellschaft 
was  dismissed. 

STATE  TELEPHONE  STATISTICS 


Year 

Number  of 
Subscribers 

Kilometers 
of  Wire 

1890 

106 

1895 

250 

1900  

409 

1901  

449 

1902  

486 

1903  

530 

1904  

564 

1905 

603 

1906 

607 

2315 

1907 

680 

2738 

1908 

762 

3010 

1909 

818 

3  138 

1910     . 

918 

3439 

1911     .  . 

1,095 

3,540 

1912   

1,165 

3,777 

1913  

1,180 

3,976 

1914  

1,195 

4,491 

1915.  . 

1,209 

4,548 

1916  

1,205 

4,596 

1917  

1,247 

4,605 

The  report  of  the  Telegraph  Administration  for 
1911  shows  that  at  that  time  interurban  telephone 
service  had  been  established  between  the  capital, 
Nictheroy,  Petropolis,  and  Therezopolis.  For  this 
service  the  following  rates  were  charged  for  a  conver- 
sation of  five  minutes'  duration: 

For  a  conversation  established  directly  between  two 

stations 1  milreis  (33  cents) 

For  a  conversation  that  had  to  pass  through  an  inter- 
mediate station 2  milreis  (66  cents) 

50 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


From  1912  to  1917  the  State  telephone  service 
continued  to  develop  slowly,  the  only  change  which 
occurred  being  a  slight  reduction  in  the  interurban 
rates  which  had  been  established  in  1911. 

PRIVATE  TELEPHONE  SERVICE 

The  development  of  the  telephone  service  in 
Brazil  is  almost  entirely  the  work  of  private  enter- 
prise. 

The  "Histoire  de  la  Telephonic,"  published  in 
Paris  in  1890  by  Julien  Brault,  records  that  the  tele- 
phone first  appeared  in  the  Brazilian  Empire  in  the 
year  1877,  and  states  further:  "The  first  telephone 
was  constructed  in  that  year  in  the  workshop  of  the 
Western  and  Brazilian  Telegraph  Company  in  Rio 
de  Janeiro.  Towards  the  end  of  1877  Rodde  &  Com- 
pany established  a  telephone  between  their  offices 
and  the  Stock  Exchange  of  Rio." 

Two  years  later  Charles  Paul  Mackie  of  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  petitioned  the  Brazilian  Government 
for  a  concession  to  furnish  a  local  exchange  service  in 
the  capital  and  its  suburbs,  likewise  in  Nictheroy. 
By  decree  No.  7539  of  November  15,  1879,  he  ob- 
tained a  10-year  concession  with  exclusive  privileges 
for  the  first  five  years.  The  decree  made  it  optional 
with  him  as  to  whether  he  should  engage  personally 
in  the  enterprise  or  organize  a  corporation  for  the 
exploitation  of  his  concession.  For  reasons  unknown, 
Mackie  forfeited  his  concession,  for  in  the  list  of 
decrees  published  in  the  1906  annual  report  of  the 
Brazilian  Director  General  of  Telegraphs  decree  No. 
7539  is  followed  by  the  words  "esta  concessao 
caducou"  (this  concession  lapsed). 

51 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


The  Government  granted  no  further  telephone 
concessions  until  April,  1881,  when  the  Telephone 
Company  of  Brazil  entered  the  field.  As  the 
formation  of  this  company  is  closely  interwoven 
with  the  work  of  the  telephone  pioneers  in  the 
United  States  a  digression  is  desirable  before  taking 
up  anew  the  thread  of  the  story  of  the  telephone  in 
Brazil. 

At  this  point  it  is  the  pleasant  duty  of  the  writer 
to  disclose  a  phase  of  the  marvellous  organizing 
genius  of  Theodore  N.  Vail  which  is  almost  unknown 
in  the  country  that  witnessed  his  proudest  achieve- 
ments. 

Only  eighteen  months  had  passed  since  the  in- 
corporation of  the  Bell  Telephone  Company  of  New 
York  when  in  the  midst  of  a  multitude  of  sorely 
perplexing  problems  at  home  Vail  turned  his  unique 
business  acumen  to  the  introduction  of  the  telephone 
in  foreign  countries,  and  forthwith  created  the  Con- 
tinental Telephone  Company,  thus  planting  the  seed 
from  which  sprung  not  only  the  telephone  service 
of  Brazil,  but  also  that  of  various  other  Latin  Ameri- 
can countries. 

The  Continental  Telephone  Company  received 
its  charter  from  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts 
on  January  7,  1880,  and  was  dissolved  April  18,  1894. 
The  incorporators  were  Theodore  N.  Vail,  later 
President  of  the  American  Telephone  and  Tele- 
graph Company  of  New  York,  William  H.  Forbes, 
the  first  President  of  the  American  Bell  Tele- 
phone Company,  George  L.  Bradley,  Charles 
Eustis  Hubbard  and  Charles  Emerson.  According  to 
the  charter  the  company  had  been  formed  with  a 

52 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


capital  of  $100,000  "for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing, 
selling  or  renting  electric  telephones  and  telephonic 
apparatus,  and  to  establish,  build  and  maintain  lines 
for  the  transmission  of  messages  by  electricity,  or 
otherwise,  in  any  country,  or  countries,  other  than 
the  United  States  of  America/ ' 

Records  which  fortunately  have  been  preserved 
show  that  Professor  Alexander  Graham  Bell  and  a 
number  of  his  early  associates  like  Watson,  Sanders, 
and  Blake,  men  who  helped  make  the  invention  of 
Bell  a  commercial  success  in  the  United  States,  as- 
signed to  the  Continental  Telephone  Company  all 
their  patent  rights  outside  of  the  United  States,  as 
well  as  the  sole  and  exclusive  right  to  sell,  lease  and 
use  Bell  telephones,  Blake  transmitters,  and  all  other 
telephonic  apparatus  then  manufactured  by  the  Bell 
Telephone  Company  of  Boston,  Massachusetts. 

TELEPHONE  COMPANY  OF  BRAZIL  (Com- 
panhia  Telephonica  do  Brazil).  With  the  creation 
of  the  Continental  Telephone  Company,  Vail  set  to 
work  to  carry  into  effect  his  plan  for  developing  the 
telephone  service  in  foreign  countries  and  selected 
Brazil  as  a  starting  point.  On  October  13,  1880, 
Articles  of  Association  were  signed  in  Boston  for  the 
formation  of  the  Telephone  Company  of  Brazil,  with 
a  working  capital  of  $300,000,  consisting  of  3,000 
shares  of  $100  each.  Among  the  men  composing  the 
Association  were  Theodore  N.  Vail,  Henry  S.  Russell, 
Charles  P.  Mackie,  William  A.  Forbes,  George  L. 
Bradley,  Charles  Emerson  and  James  H.  Howard. 
At  the  request  of  the  Continental  Telephone  Com- 
pany H.  C.  Adams,  the  Brazilian  Vice  Consul,  certi- 
fied the  signatures. 

53 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


Immediately  after  the  formation  of  the  Associa- 
tion, application  was  made  to  the  Brazilian  Govern- 
ment for  a  concession  which  virtually  amounted  to 
asking  for  a  reinstatement  of  the  former  telephone 
concession  granted  to  Mackie,  with  the  result  that 
by  decree  No.  8065  of  April  17,  1881,  the  Telephone 
Company  of  Brazil  was  duly  recognized  and  author- 
ized to  furnish  telephone  service. 

On  account  of  its  historic  value,  copy  of  decree 
No.  8065  is  subjoined,  together  with  a  translation: 

"Decreio  No.  8065,  de  17  de  Abril  de  1881.  Autoriza  a 
TELEPHONE  COMPANY  OF  BRAZIL  a  funccionar  no 
Imperio. 

"Attendendo  no  que  Me  requereu  a  TELEPHONE 
COMPANY  OF  BRAZIL  devidamente  representada,  e  de 
conformidade  com  a  Minha  Immediata  Resolugao  de  15  de 
corrente  mez,  tomada  sobre  parecer  da  Secgao  dos  Negocios 
do  Imperio  do  Conselho  de  Estado  exarado  em  consulta  de 
12  de  Margo  proximo  passado,  Hei  por  bem  Autorizal-a  a 
funccionar  mediante  as  clausulas  que  com  este  baixam,  as- 
signadas  por  Manoel  Buarque  de  Macedo,  do  Meu  Conselho, 
Ministro  e  Secretario  de  Estado  dos  Negocios  da  Agricultura, 
Commercio  e  Obras  Publicas,  que  assim  o  tenha  entendido 
e  faga  executar. 

"Palacio  de  Marianna  em  17  de  Abril  de  1881,  60'  da 
Independencia  e  do  Imperio. 

"Com  a  rubrica  de  Sua  Magestade  o  Imperador. 

"Manoel  Buarque  de  Macedo." 

(TRANSLATION) 

Decree  No.  8065  of  April  17,  1881.  Authorization  to  the 
TELEPHONE  COMPANY  OF  BRAZIL  to  carry  on  busi- 
ness in  the  Empire. 

In  pursuance  of  the  request  addressed  to  me  by  the 
TELEPHONE  COMPANY  OF  BRAZIL,  duly  represented, 
and  in  conformity  with  my  Resolution  of  the  15th  of  the 

54 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


current  month,  based  upon  the  report  of  the  Section  of 
Domestic  Affairs  of  the  Council  of  State,  given  in  the  con- 
sultation of  the  12th  of  March  last,  I  decide  to  authorize 
said  company  to  operate  under  the  clauses  appended  hereto, 
signed  by  Manoel  Buarque  de  Macedo,  of  my  Council, 
Minister  and  Secretary  of  State,  Agriculture,  Commerce  and 
Public  Works,  whom  I  direct  to  comply  with  and  execute 
this  order. 

Palace  of  Marianna,  April  17,  1881,  Goth  year  of  the 
Independence  of  the  Empire. 

With  the  initials  of  His  Majesty,  the  Emperor. 

Manoel  Buarque  de  Macedo. 

It  has  commonly  been  assumed  that  because  the 
Association  was  formed  in  Boston,  the  associates 
had  asked  the  State  of  Massachusetts  for  a  charter 
incorporating  the  Telephone  Company  of  Brazil, 
but  the  fact  is  that  the  men  who  requested  the 
Brazilian  Government  for  authorization  to  supply  a 
telephone  service  to  the  public  failed  to  do  so. 

By  May  28,  1881,  the  first  three  lines,  with  a 
total  length  of  about  one  mile,  were  constructed  in 
the  capital.  Ten  months  later  the  company  had  ex- 
tended its  telephone  wire  in  both  the  capital  and  in 
the  suburbs  to  372  miles.  About  the  same  time  it 
succeeded  in  obtaining  a  second  decree  (No.  8457  of 
March  18,  1882)  giving  it  a  concession  for  furnishing 
telephone  service  in  various  important  cities,  among 
them  being  Maceio,  S.  Salvador,  Petropolis,  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  Porto  Alegre,  Pelotas,  and  Rio  Grande. 
This  broad  franchise,  except  in  so  far  as  it  is  referred 
to  Rio  de  Janeiro,  was  declared  void  by  decree  No. 
9664  of  October  16,  1886. 

Data  contained  in  Brault's  "Histoire  de  la 
Telephonic"  give  the  development  of  the  Telephone 

55 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


Company  of  Brazil  from  its  inception  to  April  1, 
1885,  as  follows: 

"By  1882  the  Telephone  Company  of  Brazil  had  already 
opened  8  offices  for  the  use  of  the  public.  By  1883  the  com- 
pany had  established  5  exchanges  with  a  total  of  about  1,000 
subscribers.  During  the  same  year  a  long  distance  line  of 
100  kilometers  (62  miles)  had  been  built,  connecting  the 
capital  with  Petropolis,  the  residence  of  the  Emperor.  By 
April  1,  1885,  the  number  of  telephone  exchanges  in  Brazil 
had  increased  to  7,  with  a  total  of  3,335  subscribers,  of  which 
the  largest  3  were  the  capital  and  its  suburbs  serving  1,675 
subscribers,  Pernambuco  with  275,  and  Bahia  with  245  sub- 
scribers." 

Early  Brazilian  records  prove  that  but  a  few 
years  after  the  inauguration  of  the  telephone  service 
in  Brazil  and  the  organization  of  the  Telephone 
Company  of  Brazil,  a  rival  concern,  called  the  Com- 
panhia  Uniao  Telephonica  do  Brazil,  had  started 
exchanges  in  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Santos  and  Sao  Paulo. 
It  operated  an  opposition  plant  in  the  Federal 
Capital,  finally  incorporating  the  Telephone  Com- 
pany of  Brazil  and  continuing  to  operate  until  1889, 
when  it  was  purchased  by  the  Empreza  Obras 
Publicas  do  Brazil,  which,  a  year  later,  obtained  a 
new  concession  to  operate  in  the  Federal  Capital. 

While  the  above  information  constitutes  the  only 
official  reference  to  the  Companhia  Uniao  Tele- 
phonica do  Brazil,  some  important  data  are  con- 
tained in  a  leaflet  published  in  October,  1885,  by  the 
Tropical  American  Telephone  Company,  which  was 
incorporated  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  U.  S.  A., 
on  November  1,  1881,  with  headquarters  at  95 
Milk  Street,  Boston,  Massachusetts.  The  leaflet 
states  as  follows: 

56 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


"This  Company  acquired  from  the  Continental  Tele- 
phone Company  of  Boston,  all  telephonic  rights  formerly 
its  property  in  Central  America,  Colombia,  Venezuela,  Chile, 
Peru,  Ecuador,  and  Bolivia,  and  the  West  Indies,  except 
Cuba. 

"By  subsequent  purchase  it  obtained  from  the  Continen- 
tal Telephone  Company  all  its  existing  telephonic  rights  in 
Brazil  and  the  remaining  countries  of  South  America,  in- 
cluding valuable  contracts  with  subsidiary  companies;  and 
now  has  the  sole  and  exclusive  right  to  sell,  lease,  and  use 
'Bell'  Telephones,  'Blake'  Transmitters,  and  all  other  tele- 
phonic apparatus  manufactured  by  the  American  Bell  Tele- 
phone Company,  under  patents  owned  or  controlled  by  it 
in  the  United  States  and  Canada,  in  the  entire  territory  of 
South  America,  Central  America,  and  West  Indies,  named 
below,  and  is  the  source  of  supply  for  telephones,  transmit- 
ters, telephonic  instruments  and  supplies,  to  the  following 
telephone  companies  already  organized  and  doing  business, 
viz: 

"COMPANHIA  UNIAO  TELEPHONICA  DO  BRA- 
ZIL, the  successor  of  the  Companhia  Nacional  de  Electrici- 
dade  and  Companhia  de  Telegraphos  Urbanos,  operating 
in  Bahia,  Pernambuco,  Para,  Santos,  Campinos,  and  else- 
where in  Brazil. 

"COMPANHIA  TELEPHONICA  DO  BRAZIL,  oper- 
ating in  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  Nictheroy,  Brazil." 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  name  of  the  Com- 
panhia de  Telegraphos  Urbanos  is  included  in  the 
list  of  subsidiary  companies  mentioned  above.  This 
company  owed  its  existence  to  decree  No.  7753  of 
July  5,  1880,  which  authorized  Morris  N.  Kohn  to 
form  a  telegraph  company  to  be  known  as  the  Em- 
preza  Telegraphica  Electrica  Urbana  de  Servigo 
Domestico,  to  operate  in  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Nictheroy, 
and  any  other  part  of  the  Empire.  This  company 
in  turn  formed  a  new  concern,  the  Companhia 

57 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


Telegraphos  Urbanos  e  Servigo  Domestico,  which  by 
decree  No.  8307  of  November  12,  1881,  was  granted 
a  .10 -year  exclusive  franchise  for  messenger,  police 
and  fire  alarm  service  in  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  Nicthe- 
roy.  Although  there  is  no  evidence  to  prove  it,  it 
is  said  that  the  Companhia  Uniao  Telephonica  do 
Brazil  may  have  established  itself  in  Brazil  under 
the  above  concession. 

Four  months  after  the  fall  of  the  Empire  the 
Provisional  Government  issued  decree  No.  199  of 
February  6,  1890,  which  authorized  the  transfer  of 
all  telephone  lines  within  the  boundary  of  the  capi- 
tal to  the  Municipal  Administration,  and  at  the 
same  time  gave  the  Federal  Telegraph  Administra- 
tion the  power  to  establish  telephone  plants  for 
official  and  private  use  throughout  the  Republic. 

Acting  under  this  decree  the  Conselho  da  Inten- 
dencia  Municipal  in  its  session  of  March  25,  1890, 
decided  to  contract  with  the  Empreza  Obras  Publicas 
do  Brazil  for  furnishing  telephone  service  in  the 
Federal  District,  and  a  contract  to  this  effect  was 
executed  the  following  day.  Presumably  this  com- 
pany carried  on  the  telephone  service  in  this  terri- 
tory until  1896. 

In  the  absence  of  any  available  official  documents, 
little  is  known  about  the  condition  of  the  telephone 
service  in  the  capital  from  1890  to  1896,  but  it  is 
evident  that  the  municipality  was  by  no  means 
anxious  to  continue  the  prevailing  arrangement  at 
the  expiration  of  this  period,  for  decree  No.  49  of 
January,  1897,  declared  the  contract  with  the  Em- 
preza Obras  Publicas  do  Brazil  definitely  cancelled. 
At  the  same  time  the  municipality  announced  that 

58 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


a  new  concession  would  be  granted  to  any  respon- 
sible party  which  would  undertake  to  supply  an 
efficient  telephone  service  throughout  the  entire 
municipal  area,  which  then  covered  about  1,116 
square  kilometers  (430  square  miles),  and  in  ac- 
cordance with  this  plan  invited  public  bids. 

On  February  12,  1897,  the  Municipal  Authori- 
ties executed  a  contract  with  Siemens  &  Halske 
Aktien-Gesellschaft  and  Alberto  Frend  &  Company 
for  telephone  service  in  the  capital  for  a  period  of 
30  years.  Alberto  Frend  &  Company  transferred 
their  interest  to  TheodorWille  &  Company  on  June 
18,  1898,  the  concession  being  modified  by  decree 
No.  622  of  November  9,  1898,  to  cover  this  trans- 
fer. On  January  17,  1899,  pursuant  to  decree  No. 
3250,  a  new  contract  was  made  with  Siemens  & 
Halske  Aktien-Gesellschaft  and  Theodor  Wille  & 
Company,  regarding  the  telephone  concession.  Fi- 
nally, on  June  6,  1899,  the  concession  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  Brazilianische  Electricitats-Gesellschaft. 

BRAZILIANISCHE  ELECTRICITATS-GE- 
SELLSCHAFT. In  accordance  with  the  terms  of 
the  contract  between  the  city  and  the  Brazilianische 
Electricitats-Gesellschaft,  the  company  agreed  to 
pay  to  the  municipality  10%  of  the  annual  net 
profits,  and  in  consideration  of  such  payment  was 
exempted  from  all  municipal  taxes.  The  Bulletin 
of  the  Pan-American  Union  of  July,  1899,  contains 
a  report  by  the  French  Consul  at  Rio  de  Janeiro, 
relating  to  the  new  telephone  company,  part  of 
which  reads  as  follows: 

"A  new  German  Company,  called  the  Brazilianische 
Electricitats-Gesellschaft,  has  been  formed  in  Brazil,  and 

59 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


is  authorized  by  a  decree  of  April  7,  1899,  published  in  the 
Diario  Oficial,  to  operate  in  Brazil.  This  Company,  with 
headquarters  in  Berlin,  and  which  has  a  capital  of  5,000,000 
marks,  |seems  to  be  destined  to  absorb  all  the  other  German 
electrical  companies,  thus  forming  one  large  syndicate." 

The  concession  prescribed  also  the  annual  rates 
to  be  charged  for  telephone  service  and  for  this 
purpose  divided  the  city  into  three  zones.  A  feature 
of  the  concession  was  the  provision  that  the  rates 
would  be  varied  according  to  fluctuations  in  ex- 
change, and  a  schedule  was  appended  setting  forth 
the  rates  in  the  several  zones  at  rates  of  exchange 
from  7  pence  to  27  pence.  Consequently,  if  the  rate 
of  exchange  advanced,  the  telephone  charges  were 
decreased  and,  if  the  rate  of  exchange  fell,  the  Com- 
pany was  at  liberty  to  increase  the  charges.  The 
rate  schedule  of  the  Brazilianische  Electricitats- 
Gesellschaft,  at  various  rates*  of  exchange,  was  as 
follows: 


Exchange  Rate 
(pence) 

1st  Zone 
(milreis) 

2nd  Zone 
(milreis) 

3rd  Zone 
(milreis) 

7.. 

330 

495 

660 

g 

300 

450 

600 

10 

250 

375 

500 

12 

210 

315 

420 

15  . 

175 

262 

350 

20  

140 

201 

280 

27  

110 

165 

220 

The  above  rates  were  still  in  use  in  1920,  although 
at  frequent  intervals  since  1912  the  company  has 
asked  the  municipality  to  change  them  and  to  adopt 
a  rate  schedule  on  the  number  of  messages  used. 

*  For  a  number  of  years  prior  to  the  World  War  the  value  of  the  paper 
milreis  was  about  33  cents  in  U.  S.  currency.  The  present  rate  of  exchange 
is  about  14  cents  (7  pence). 

60 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


The  Brazilianische  Electricitats-Gesellschaft  con- 
tinued to  operate  as  an  independent  company  until 
1907,  although  as  early  as  1905  the  entire  stock  had 
been  acquired  by  interests  associated  with  the  Rio 
de  Janeiro  Tramway,  Light  and  Power  Company. 

RIO  DE  JANEIRO  TELEPHONE  COMPANY. 
This  company  came  into  existence  in  1907  and  re- 
ceived its  charter  of  incorporation  on  November 
15th  of  that  year.  James  E.  Manter  was  the  first 
president  of  the  organization.  Without  going  into 
the  details  of  the  charter  it  may  be  asserted  that  it 
was  a  very  broad  one  and  could  cover  almost  any 
conceivable  general  business.  Some  interesting  data 
about  the  Rio  de  Janeiro  Telephone  Company  are 
found  in  the  Brazilian  Yearbook  for  1908,  namely: 

"The  Rio  de  Janeiro  Telephone  Company  was  incor- 
porated in  1907  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Maine,  U.  S.  A., 
with  a  capital  of  $1,000,000  and  a  bonded  debt  of  $1,000,000 
consisting  of  5%  bonds.  It  owns  the  entire  share  capital 
of  the  Brazilianische  Electricitats-Gesellschaft,  a  German 
company,  which  holds  the  telephone  concession  granted  by 
the  municipality  of  Rio  de  Janeiro. 

"The  Rio  de  Janeiro  Tramway,  Light  and  Power  Com- 
pany, Ltd.,  owns  the  entire  share  capital  of  the  Rio  de  Janeiro 
Telephone  Company,  which  capital  stock  has  been  trans- 
ferred to  the  trustees  for  the  bond  holders  of  the  Rio  de 
Janeiro  Tramway,  Light  and  Power  Company,  Ltd.  In 
payment  for  advances  made  by  it  on  account  of  the  purchase 
and  for  construction  and  interest  charges,  the  Rio  de  Janeiro 
Tramway,  Light  and  Power  Company,  Ltd.,  receives  the 
interest  on  the  telephone  bonds  and  the  proceeds  thereof  if 
and  when  sold. 

This  telephone  concession  gives  the  exclusive  right  to 
exploit  the  telephone  business  in  the  Federal  District  until 
1928." 

61 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


The  Rio  de  Janeiro  Telephone  Company  was 
dissolved  in  1911  when  the  shares  of  theBrazilianische 
Electricitats-Gesellschaft  became  the  property  of  the 
Rio  de  Janeiro  Tramway,  Light  and  Power  Company. 

THE  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  TRAMWAY,  LIGHT 
AND  POWER  COMPANY,  LTD.  The  second 
annual  report  of  this  company,  covering  the  year 

1907,  refers  to  the  telephone  service  in  the  capital 
as  follows: 

"During  the  past  year  the  reconstruction  of  the  building 
and  plant,  after  the  destructive  fire  at  the  central  office,  was 
completed,  and  an  extensive  reconstruction  of  the  lines  was 
undertaken.  The  entire  overhead  system  has  been  practi- 
cally reconstructed.  In  the  new  central  station  a  new  test- 
ing station  has  been  installed  and  a  switchboard  for  4,900 
lines  has  been  provided.  In  addition  to  this  four  branch 
exchanges  have  been  installed." 

The  third  annual  report  of  the  company,  for  the  year 

1908,  states: 

"During  the  year  considerable  progress  has  been  made 
in  the  development  of  the  telephone  system.  An  active 
canvass  for  telephone  subscribers  has  been  made,  with  the 
result  that  the  subscribers  have  increased  during  the  past 
year  from  2,680  to  3,520,  or  an  increase  of  31.3%.  The 
gross  revenue  for  the  year  was  $175,000,  an  increase  of 
$58,800,  or  50%  over  1907,  and  the  net  revenue  increased 
from  $47,700  to  $104,700,  or  119%." 

The  report  of  the  company  for  1909  records  a 
gain  of  572  subscribers  during  the  year.  No  de- 
tailed statistics  are  given  in  the  1910  report,  but 
that  of  1911  states  the  number  of  telephones  at  the 
close  of  the  year  as  6,275,  not  including  721  which 
were  operated  by  the  Interurban  Telephone  Com- 
pany of  Brazil,  a  company  which  operated  in  the 
city  of  Nictheroy  and  owned  long  distance  lines  to 

62 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


Petropolis  and  Rio  de  Janeiro,  the  latter  being 
reached  by  means  of  a  submarine  cable  across  the 
bay.  In  1911  this  company  was  acquired  by  the 
Rio  de  Janeiro  Tramway,  Light  and  Power  Company, 
Ltd.,  which  in  turn  passed  into  the  control  of  the 
Brazilian  Traction,  Light  and  Power  Company,  Ltd., 
in  1912. 

BRAZILIAN  TRACTION,  LIGHT  AND 
POWER  COMPANY,  LTD.  This  company  was 
incorporated  in  July,  1912,  under  the  laws  of  the 
Dominion  of  Canada,  and  was  formed  to  consolidate 
the  interests  of  the  Rio  de  Janeiro  Tramway,  Light 
and  Power  Company,  Ltd.,  the  .Sao  Paulo  Tram- 
way, Light  and  Power  Company,  Ltd.,  and  the 
Sao  Paulo  Electric  Company,  Ltd. 

The  first  annual  report  of  the  Brazilian  Traction, 
Light  and  Power  Company,  Ltd.,  covers  the  period 
from  its  incorporation  to  December  31,  1913,  and 
shows  the  growth  of  the  telephone  business  in  Rio 
de  Janeiro  by  the  following  statistics: 


Dec.  31, 
1911 

Dec.  31, 
1912 

Dec.  31, 
1913 

Number  of  business  telephones 

5,140 

6,981 

8,376 

Number  of  residence  telephones  

1,135 

2,039 

3,003 

Total  

6,275 

9,020 

11,379 

Telephone  gross  earnings  

$362,467 

$538,048 

$734,276 

During  1914  the  Brazilian  Traction,  Light  and 
Power  Company,  Ltd.,  acquired  a  controlling  in- 
terest in  the  Companhia  Rede  Telephonica  Bragan- 
tina,  which  operated  in  the  State  of  Sao  Paulo,  and 
in^the  Cia  Telephonica  do  Estado  de  Sao  Paulo, 

63 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


which  operated  telephone  systems  in  Sao  Paulo, 
Santos  and  Campinas.  The  holding  company  con- 
tinued its  policy  of  absorbing  the  share  capital  of  the 
last  two  mentioned  companies  during  1915,  and  at 
the  end  of  that  year  held  about  95%  of  the  stock  of 
each.  Due  to  the  World  War  the  gain  in  subscribers 
was  comparatively  slow  during  the  year,  the  total 
number  of  subscribers  at  December  31,  1915,  being 
11,811  in  Rio  de  Janeiro,  1,151  in  Nictheroy,  727 
in  Petropolis,  and  97  in  Barra  do  Pirahy. 

Soon  after  the  passage  of  legislation  in  December, 
1914,  authorizing  the  Government  to  permit  con- 
nection of  telephone  lines  at  all  State  limits,  the 
interurban  service  was  connected  with  that  of  the 
Bragantina  Company  in  the  adjoining  State  of 
Sao  Paulo. 

RIO  DE  JANEIRO  AND  SAO  PAULO 
TELEPHONE  COMPANY.  This  company  was  in- 
corporated under  the  laws  of  Canada  in  1916  for  the 
purpose  of  acquiring  and  developing  the  telephone 
enterprises  owned  by  the  Brazilian  Traction,  Light 
and  Power  Company,  Ltd.  The  new  company  has 
a  share  capital  of  $5,000,000  and  an  authorized  issue 
of  $7,500,000  6%  30-year  Bonds,  and  has  acquired 
the  shares  of  the  following  companies: 

1.  Brazilianische  Electricitats-Gesellschaft.     This  com- 
pany serves  the  city  and  Federal  District  of  Rio  de  Janeiro. 

2.  The  Interurban  Telephone  Company  of  Brazil.    This 
company  serves  the  city  of  Nictheroy,  capital  of  the  State 
of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Petropolis,  and  a  number  of  smaller  towns 
in  the  vicinity.    The  company's  concession  authorizes  the 
extension  of  the  service  to  all  the  important  cities  and  towns 
throughout  the  State. 

3.  Companhia    de    Telephones    Interestadoaes.      This 

64 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


company  serves  the  municipalities  of  Cataguazes,  Sao  Paulo 
de  Muriahe  and  Palma  in  the  State  of  Minas  Geraes,  and  of 
the  municipality  of  Santo  Antonio  de  Padua  in  the  State  of 
Rio  de  Janeiro. 

4.  Companhia  Telephonica  do  Estado  de  Sao  Paulo. 
This  company  serves  the  cities  of  Sao  Paulo,  Santos,  and 
Campinas,  the  three  principal  cities  in  the  State  of  Sao 
Paulo,  and  operates  the  toll  lines  between  the  first  named 
cities. 

5.  Companhia    Rede    Telephonica    Bragantina.     This 
company  serves  about  100  of  the  most  important  munici- 
palities in  the  State  of  Sao  Paulo  and  that  of  several  adjoin- 
ing districts  of  the  States  of  Minas  Geraes  and  Rio  de  Janeiro. 
Besides  the  local  services  established  in  the  principal  centers 
of  these  municipalities,  toll  lines  connect  them  with  the 
cities  of  Sao  Paulo,  Santos,  and  other  important  centers. 

The  1916  annual  report  of  the  Brazilian  Traction, 
Light  and  Power  Company,  Ltd.,  states: 

"Under  working  agreements  made  between  the  new 
company  and  the  five  subsidiary  telephone  companies,  the 
new  company  is  entitled  to  all  their  earnings,  and  on  the 
other  hand,  provides  for  their  capital  and  other  requirements. 

"The  plan  of  the  new  company  is  to  consolidate  these 
several  undertakings  into  one  comprehensive  telephone 
system. 

"Until  recently  the  Federal  Government  refused  to 
allow  telephone  lines  to  cross  from  the  territory  of  one  State 
to  another.  Last  year  a  law  was  passed  removing  this  re- 
striction, and  the  necessary  licenses  have  been  granted  per- 
mitting the  systems  of  the  several  companies  to  be  connected 
across  State  boundaries,  thus  removing  the  most  important 
barrier  to  the  future  progress  and  development  of  the  tele- 
phone industry." 

Before  leaving  the  discussion  of  the  telephone  in 
the  capital,  something  further  should  be  said  about 
the  rates  charged  for  the  service.  It  will  be  recalled 

65 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


that  the  municipality  established  the  rates  to  be 
charged  at  the  time  it  closed  the  contract  for  supply- 
ing telephone  service  with  the  Siemens  &  Halske 
Aktien-Gesellschaft.  Since  1912  the  mayors  of 
Rio  de  Janeiro  in  their  messages  to  the  Municipal 
Council  have  advised  that  body  to  revise  this  con- 
tract and  to  use  measured  service  as  the  basis  for 
rates.  Similarly  the  company  has  applied  several 
times  to  the  Municipal  Council  for  authority  to  in- 
troduce the  measured  rate  system,  but  without  suc- 
cess. In  their  last  petition  made  in  August,  1919, 
the  company  pointed  out  as  justification  for  their 
request  that  up  to  the  end  of  1920  they  had  installed 
more  than  50,000  telephones  at  an  expense  of  $15,- 
000,000  and  that  no  further  capital  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  telephone  service  could  be  obtained 
unless  the  municipality  authorized  a  change  in  the 
existing  rates. 

The  growth  of  the  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  Sao  Paulo 
Telephone  Company  from  1916  to  1920  has  been 
remarkable,  the  increase  in  telephones  during  this 
time  being  33,816,  or  a  gain  of  over  107%.  On  Jan- 
uary 1,  1921,  this  company  operated  about  75%  of 
the  total  number  of  telephones  in  the  Republic  of 
Brazil.  The  remaining  25%  are  represented  by  some 
50  private  concerns,  of  which  the  largest  is  the 
Companhia  Telephonica  Rio-Grandense,  which  oper- 
ates in  the  State  of  Rio  Grande  do  Sul,  with  head- 
quarters at  Porto  Alegre.  On  January  1,  1921, 
this  company  had  7,200  subscribers. 

The  history  of  the  development  of  the  telephone 
service  as  related  in  this  chapter  proves  that  in 
Brazil,  as  in  any  other  modern  progressive  country, 

66 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


BRAZILIANISCHE  ELECTRICITATS-GESELLSCHAFT 
(Rio  de  Janeiro) 


Year 

Number  of 
Subscribers 

Kilometers 
of  Wire 

1906                       

2,000 

1907                     

2,680 

1908           

3,520 

1909       

3,991 

1910     

4,859 

25,000 

1911 

6,275 

32,000 

1912 

9,020 

42,000 

1913 

11,379 

52,000 

1914 

11,669 

75,000 

1915 

11,811 

90,080 

1916 

14,313 

93,358 

1917 

18,404 

114,090 

1918 

22,263 

135,192 

1919     . 

26,240 

131,443 

1920 

29,275 

150,000 

RIO   DE  JANEIRO   AND   SAO   PAULO  TELEPHONE   COMPANY 


Number  of  Telephones: 

1916 

1917 

1918 

1919 

1920 

Brazilianische    Electrici- 
tats-Gesellschaft  .  .  . 
The  Interurban  Tele- 
phone Co  
Cia.  de  Tel.  Interesta- 
doaes  

14,313 
2,214 
382 

18,404 
2,473 
386 

22,263 
2,762  1 

422  f 

26,240 
3,538 

29,275 
4,003 

Cia.    Tel.    Estado   de 
Sao  Paulo  
Cia.  Rede  Tel.  Bragan- 
tina 

9,392 
5250 

11,768 
6680 

14,677  1 
7518  J 

27,438 

32,089 

Total  .  . 

31,551 

39711 

47642 

57216 

65367 

Kilometers  of  Wire: 
Brazilianische  Electric- 
itats-Gesellschaft..  . 
The  Interurban  Tele- 
phone Co  

93,358 

114,090 
13,740 

135,192 
16,016 

131,443 
9831 

150,000 

Cia.  de  Tel.  Interesta- 
doaes  

1037 

1981 

2477 

Cia.    Tel.    Estado   de 
Sao  Paulo  

78,107 

78,107  ] 

Cia.  Rede  Tel.  Bragan- 
tina  .    . 

52369 

49  577  J 

138,085 

Total  

259343 

280873 

281  836 

302  16Q 

67 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


the  extensive  development  of  the  telephone  requires 
the  organizing  ability  and  the  up-to-date  manage- 
ment of  experts  thoroughly  competent  to  provide 
an  efficient  service,  and  a  ready  willingness  on  the 
part  of  the  Government  to  aid  all  public  enterprises 
that  are  earnestly  striving  to  promote  the  welfare 
of  a  country. 

GENERAL   TELEPHONE  DEVELOPMENT 

Bearing  in  mind  that  from  the  very  start  the 
development  of  the  telephone  had  been  left  to  private 
enterprise,  it  is  not  at  all  strange  that  for  30  years 
the  Administration  did  not  possess  complete  infor- 
mation concerning  the  telephone  development  of 
the  Republic.  In  the  1906  report  of  the  Telegraph 
Administration,  in  the  chapter  entitled  'Servigo 
Telephonico  Particular/'  the  Director  General  writes 
that  it  is  the  intention  of  the  Administration  to 
prepare  a  detailed  statement  of  the  telephone  de- 
velopment of  the  country.  This  is  followed  by  an 
explanation  of  the  difficulties  which  the  Administra- 
tion faced  in  gathering  the  necessary  data.  The 
report  for  1907,  referring  to  the  telephone  develop- 
ment of  Brazil,  contains  the  following  paragraph: 

"In  the  majority  of  the  States  of  the  Federation  the 
companies  that  furnish  a  private  telephone  service  are  of 
small  importance,  and  only  in  the  States  of  Sao  Paulo  and 
Rio  Grande  do  Sul  are  these  telephone  companies  of  an 
appreciable  size.  In  the  last  mentioned  State  the  Adminstra- 
tion  has  had  occasion  to  interfere  with  the  action  of  the 
Minister  of  Industries,  Ways,  and  Public  Works,  by  re- 
fusing to  grant  concessions  for  telephone  lines  to  be  built 
in  zones  already  served  by  the  lines  of  the  National  tele- 
graph." 

68 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


The  first  "Quadro  do  Servigo  Telephonico  Par- 
ticular/' or  summary  of  telephone  companies,  is 
contained  in  the  1907  report  of  the  Telegraph  Ad- 
ministration. It  is,  however,  quite  incomplete,  and 
gives  a  total  of  11,207  telephones  and  12,342  kilo- 
meters (7,664  miles)  of  wire. 

In  the  1909  report  the  Director  General  of  Tele- 
graphs made  another  effort  to  assemble  the  statistics 
of  private  telephone  companies  in  each  State  of  the 
Federation.  As  in  the  former  list,  the  data  are  de- 
ficient, the  total  number  of  telephones  having  in- 
creased, according  to  this  statement,  to  14,345  with 
15,200  kilometers  (9,439  miles)  of  wire.  In  its  five 
subsequent  annual  reports  the  Telegraph  Adminis-  , 
tration  furnishes  no  information  whatever  on  the 
development  of  private  telephone  systems  in  Brazil, 
but  in  the  1915  report  there  is  a  condensed  summary 
of  telephone  statistics,  as  shown  in  the  following 
table.  As  the  Administration  has  omitted  the  statis- 
tics of  the  Brazilianische  Electricitats-Gesellschaft 
they  have  been  added  in  order  to  make  the  table 
complete. 

The  latest  report  of  the  Telegraph  Administra- 
tion, that  for  1917,  merely  repeats  the  above  table, 
while  the  "Annuario  Estatistico  do  Brazil/*  also 
published  in  1917,  only  contains  the  1907  statistics 
for  the  private  telephone  companies. 

That  the  Government  of  a  country,  occupying 
such  a  leading  role  in  the  commerce  of  the  world,  has 
apparently  so  far  overlooked  the  importance  of  pos- 
sessing accurate  and  up-to-date  statistical  infor- 
mation about  one  of  its  most  valuable  public  ser- 
vices, is  regrettable. 

69 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


TELEPHONE  STATISTICS  OF  BRAZIL,  1915 


States 

Kilometers 
of  Wire 

Number  of 
Telephones 

Investment 
(milreis) 

Alagoas  

379 

296 

Amazonas  

432 

374 

190,000 

Bahia  

2,130 

1,459 

Ceara 

653 

268 

Espirito  Santo  

88 

480 

Federal  District: 
Government  system  
Braz.  Elec.-Gesellschaft.  .  . 
Goyaz  

4,548 
90,080 
36 

1,209 
11,811 
150 

13,000,666 
50,000 

Maranhao  

319 

370 

40,000 

Matto  Grosso  

290 

675 

145,000 

Minas  Geraes  

168 

532 

Para 

139 

603 

Parana 

1070 

722 

1000000 

Pernambuco  

2,000 

1,072 

Piauhy 

127 

57 

Rio  de  Janeiro 

13,138 

1,141 

300,000 

Rio  Grande  do  Sul 

44,383 

10,368 

5,458,000 

Santa  Catharina 

573 

550 

140,000 

Sao  Paulo  

45,725 

7,648 

8,820,000 

Total  

206,278 

39,785 

29,143,000 

128,000  miles 

$9,617,000 

Based  upon  such  information  as  has  been  received 
from  private  sources  the  total  number  of  telephones 
in  Brazil  on  January  1,  1921,  is  estimated  as  85,000, 
which  represents  a  development  of  0.28  telephones 
per  100  of  population.  Undoubtedly,  if  complete 
recent  statistics  were  available  from  all  private 
companies,  the  telephone  development  of  the  Re- 
public would  be  considerably  higher. 


70 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


APPENDIX  I 

Preface  and  Extracts  from  the  Stipulations  Attached  to  Decree 
No.  8065  of  April  17,  1881 

We  the  undersigned,  Theodore  N.  Vail,  Henry  S. 
Russell,  Charles  P.  Mackie,  William  A.  Forbes,  George  L. 
Bradley,  Charles  Emerson  and  James  H.  Howard,  for  our- 
selves, our  associates  and  successors,  declare  that  we  have 
formed  in  the  State  of  New  York  a  joint-stock  company, 
consisting  of  seven  or  more  members,  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  on  the  business  of  constructing  and  operating  tele- 
phone lines  in  the  city  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  its  suburbs, 
and  in  the  city  of  Nictheroy,  in  the  Empire  of  Brazil,  which 
latter  city  shall  be  placed  in  communication  with  said  capital 
by  means  of  a  submarine  cable,  in  accordance  with  the  stipu- 
lations of  decree  No.  7539  of  November  15,  1879;  also  for 
constructing  and  operating  other  telephone  lines  and  for 
transacting  any  other  business  relating  thereto  which  now, 
or  in  future,  may  be  permitted  or  conceded  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  Brazil  to  the  said  Association  and  for  the  above 
mentioned  purposes;  also  for  buying  and  renting  all  kinds 
of  movable  or  immovable  property  needed  by  said  Associa- 
tion, in  accordance  with  the  stipulations  attached  hereto. 

Article  1.  The  name  of  the  Association  shall  be  the 
TELEPHONE  COMPANY  OF  BRAZIL  (Companhia 
Telephonica  do  Brazil). 

The  Association  shall  continue  until  November  1,  1890, 
unless  it  be  legally  dissolved  prior  to  that  date,  or  in  accor- 
dance with  these  stipulations. 

Article  3.  The  following  persons  shall  constitute  the  first 
Board  of  Directors  of  the  Association  and  shall  continue 
until  retired,  in  accordance  with  these  statutes,  namely: 
Theodore  N.  Vail,  Henry  S.  Russell,  Charles  P.  Mackie, 
William  H.  Forbes  and  J.  H.  Howard. 

Article  4.  The  headquarters  of  the  Association  shall  be 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  or  in  any  other  place,  or  places, 
which  at  any  time  may  be  designated  in  writing  by  two- 
thirds  of  the  Directors. 

71 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


Article  5.  On  the  second  Wednesday  of  January  of  each 
year  a  meeting  of  the  stockholders  shall  be  held  at  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Association.  The  first  meeting  shall  take 
place  on  November  1,  1880. 

Article  6.  The  capital  of  the  Association  shall  be  divided 
into  3,000  shares  of  a  nominal  value  of  $100  each.  This 
number  may  be  increased  or  decreased  at  any  time  as  set 
forth  hereafter. 

Article  7.  The  number  of  shares  held  by  each  member 
of  the  Association  is: 

Henry  S.  Russell 2,940 

Theodore  N.  Vail 10 

Charles  P.  Mackie 10 

William  H.  Forbes 10 

George  L.  Bradley 10 

Charles  Emerson 10 

James  H.  Howard 10 

The  Articles  of  Association  were  signed  and  sealed  on 
October  13,  1880,  at  Boston,  State  of  Massachusetts,  and 
filed  with  James  B.  Bell,  Registrar  of  Documents  for  the 
State  of  New  York  in  the  city  of  Boston.  The  signatures 
were  also  certified  to  by  Henry  C.  Adams,  Brazilian  Vice 
Consul  in  Boston,  at  the  request  of  the  Continental  Tele- 
phone Company. 

A  translation  into  Portuguese  of  the  Articles  of  Associa- 
tion was  made  by  J.  J.  Christian  Voigt,  sworn  public  trans- 
lator, at  his  office  in  Rio  de  Janeiro,  on  December  10,  1880, 
and  was  attached  to  Imperial  Decree  No.  8065  of  April 
17,  1881. 

APPENDIX  II 

Interstate  Toll  Lines 

The  rules  governing  the  construction  of  interstate  tele- 
phone toll  lines  were  attached  to  Article  99  of  Budget  Law 
No.  3089  of  January  8,  1916,  which  fixed  the  general  ex- 
penditures of  the  United  States  of  Brazil  for  the  financial 
year  1916. 

72 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


Article  99.  The  Government  will  issue  concessions  for 
interstate  telephone  lines,  subject  to  rules  assuring  their 
regular  and  satisfactory  working,  but  such  concessions  do 
not  establish  any  exclusive  privilege. 

Regulations 

I.  The  Telephone  Company  has  permission  to  build  lines 

from to over  the  boundaries  of  the 

States  of and and  to  proceed  with 

their  operation,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  Article 
99  of  law  No.  3089  of  January  8,  1916. 

II.  The  Company  shall  obtain  the  approval  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  connection  referred  to  in  paragraph  I,  also  for 
the  plan  showing  at  what  point  or  points  the  lines  are  to  be 
joined.     Furthermore,  the  Company  must  submit  to  the 
Government  a  written  report  showing  the  position  of  the 
said  lines  in  relation  to  other  electric  circuits,  if  there  are 
any  within  a  distance  of  twenty  meters  (66  ft.)  on  either 
side  of  the  proposed  line.    This  report  must  specify  the  type 
and  number  of  posts  and  insulators  which  the  Company 
intends  to  use,  the  number  of  conductors  to  be  strung,  their 
quality  and  diameter,  also  the  method  of  construction. 

If  the  Government  requires  no  changes  in  the  plan  sub- 
mitted within  ninety  days  after  the  filing  of  the  plan  and 
the  written  report,  both  shall  be  deemed  approved.  After 
the  approval  of  the  plan  and  material,  either  by  a  special 
permit  or  by  the  lapse  of  ninety  days,  construction  may  be 
started. 

III.  The   connections   between   frontier   municipalities 
of  two  States  shall  be  the  subject  of  a  special  license  whenever 
said  municipalities  are  not  included  in  the  plan  that  has 
been  approved.     Nevertheless,  the  substitution  of  or  ad- 
dition of  lines  to  the  already  approved  plan  may  be  made 
without  obtaining  a  new  concession,   provided  the  con- 
ditions stated  in  paragraph  II  are  complied  with. 

IV.  The  General  Telegraph  Administration  shall  super- 
vise the  proper  construction  of  the  line,  or  lines,  and  the 
Company  shall  pay  the  sum  of  2,400  milreis  ($792)  annually, 

73 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


payable  semi-annually  in  advance,  for  each  section  of  25 
kilometers  (15.5  miles)  of  line,  or  fraction  thereof,  beyond 
the  frontier. 

V.  In  the  conduct  of  the  telephone  service  hereby  au- 
thorized, the  Company  shall  comply  with  the  regulations 
of  the  General  Telegraph  Department. 

VI.  In  case  of  civil  disturbance,  the  Government  may 
take  charge  of  the  telephone  service  or  may  suspend  it,  in- 
demnifying the  Company  for  losses  which  may  result  from 
such  action;  said  losses  shall  be  calculated  on  the  basis  of 
the  earnings  during  the  corresponding  period  of  the  pre- 
vious year. 

VII.  The  Company  undertakes  to  guarantee  the  satis- 
factory working  of  the  lines. 

VIII.  The  rates  between  the  different  States  shall  not 
be  higher  than  those  in  force  for  the  same  distances,  measured 
in  kilometers,  within  the  respective  States.     Service  re- 
quired by  the  Government  shall  be  entitled  to  a  rebate  of 
50%   of  the   rates    established   for    interstate    communi- 
cations. 

IX.  Before  signing  the  contract  the  Company  shall 
deposit  with  the  Federal  Treasury  the  sum  of  3  contos  ($990) 
as  a  guarantee  of  its  faithful  execution. 

X.  For  non-fulfilment  of  any  of  the  paragraphs  of  the 
agreement,  fines  of  from  100  milreis  ($33)  to  500  milreis 
($165)  may  be  imposed  upon  the  Company  by  the  Ministry, 
on  the  recommendation  of  the  supervising  department, 
which  fines  shall  be  paid  within  30  days  from  the  date  of 
their  demand,  and  if  not  paid  they  shall  be  deducted  from 
the  guarantee  deposit  of  3  contos  ($990). 

In  such  case  the  Company  will  be  notified  by  the  General 
Telegraph  Administration  to  replace  the  said  guarantee 
within  the  period  of  30  days,  and  if  the  Company  fails  to  do 
so,  the  rights  which  have  been  granted  shall  be  cancelled, 
independent  of  any  action  or  judicial  intervention. 

XI.  If  the  Company  decrees  to  transfer  the  contract 
to  another  company,  enterprise  or  individual,  it  must  first 
give  notice  to  the  Government  of  its  intention  to  do  so. 

74 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


XII.  Aside  from  the  right  of  expropriation,  as  specified 
in  other  pertinent  laws,  the  Government  may  take  posses- 
sion of  the  telephone  lines  in  operation  upon  an  agreement 
with  the  Company,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  em- 
bodied in  the  contracts  which  it  may  have  with  the  State 
and  municipalities. 

APPENDIX  III 

State  of  Sao  Paulo 

Law  No.  11  of  October  28,  1891 

(A  Concession  for  Telephone  Lines  does  not  establish  an 
exclusive  monopoly.) 

Article  1.  Within  the  provisions  of  the  present  law, 
every  citizen  is  entitled  to  construct  and  operate  telephone 
lines  within  the  boundary  of  the  State. 

Article  2.  For  a  telephone  line  which  does  not  extend 
beyond  the  limits  of  one  municipality,  the  permission  for 
the  construction  and  operation  of  such  line  shall  be  obtained 
from  the  respective  municipality. 

Article  3.  However,  if  such  line  serves  simultaneously 
two  or  more  municipalities,  the  permission  for  the  construc- 
tion and  operation  of  the  line  shall  be  obtained  from  the 
State  Administration. 

Article  4.  Recipients  of  a  State  concession  for  a  tele- 
phone line  shall  comply  with  all  municipal  regulations 
within  the  limits  of  each  municipality  traversed  by  the  line. 

Article  5.  The  right  to  grant  concessions  for  telephone 
lines  and  to  subject  them  to  regulations,  does  not  entitle 
the  municipality  to  levy  taxes  or  create  onerous  conditions 
in  favor  of  municipal  lines  against  lines  that  have  received 
a  State  concession. 

Article  6.  The  construction  of  telephone  lines  shall  be 
permitted  on  all  public  thoroughfares,  provided  permission 
has  been  obtained  from  the  proper  authority. 

Article  7.  A  concession  for  building  telephone  lines 
given  by  the  municipality  or  by  the  State,  shall  not  establish 

75 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


an  exclusive  privilege  on  the  part  of  the  concessionaire  or 
the  company. 

Article  8.  The  parties  to  whom  concessions  are  granted 
assume  the  following  obligations  to  the  State: 

a)  To  give  preference  to  official  calls. 

b)  To  surrender  their  lines  to  the  State  Government,  in 

consideration  of  the  payment  of  an  indemnity, 
whenever  the  Government  may  deem  such  ex- 
propriation advisable. 

Article  9.  The  Government  shall  issue  the  regulations 
necessary  for  the  execution  of  this  law. 

Regulations 

1.  The Telephone  Company  is  hereby  granted 

permission  to  establish  and  operate  a  telephone  line  con- 
necting the  municipalities  of and 

2.  The  present  concession  shall  remain  in  force  for  the 

period  of  25  years  from The  Government  may 

declare  this  concession  forfeited 

a)  If  the  construction  of  the  line  has  not  been  commenced 

within  six  months  from  the  date  of  the  concession. 

b)  If  after  construction  has  been  started,  telephone  ser- 

vice has  not  been  inaugurated  within  one  year  from 
the  present  date. 

c)  If  after  its  inauguration,  service  is  interrupted  for 

more  than  three  consecutive  months  without  due 
cause. 

3.  The  present  concession  does  not  establish  any  monop- 
oly or  exclusive  privilege  in  favor  of  the  licensee,  who  must 
respect  the  legal  rights  of  others.    The  Government  may, 
at  any  time,  grant  new  concessions  for  the  telephone  service, 
or  itself  establish  such  service  between  the  points  mentioned 
in  paragraph  I. 

4.  The   present   concession   includes   besides   the  lines 
and  accessories,  the  intermediate  or  terminal  stations  which 
may  be  used  in  intermunicipal    service.     Service   within 
any  municipality  shall  be  established  exclusively  by  virtue 
of  permission  from  the  respective  municipal  board. 

76 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


5.  The  concessionaire  shall  have  the  right  to  build  tele- 
phone lines  on  all  highways  included  between  the  points 
referred  to  in  paragraph  I,  but  for  such  purpose  he  shall 
first  obtain  permission  from  the  proper  authorities.     For 
the  support  of  wires  or  erection  of  poles  on  private  property 
the  concessionaire  shall  obtain  the  necessary  consent  from 
the  owner. 

6.  The  concessionaire  must  submit  to  municipal  regula- 
tions within  the  limits  of  each  municipality  through  which 
the  lines  pass.     The  Government  must  protect  the  con- 
cessionaire against  non-observance  of  the  provisions  which 
forbid  municipalities  to  create  taxes  or  onerous  conditions 
against  the  licensee's  line  in  favor  of  the  municipal  lines. 

7.  In  the  construction  of  the  lines  which  the  conces- 
sionaire may  build,  the  rules  and  principles  of  the  art  shall 
be  observed.    The  Government  shall  always  have  the  right 
to  prevent  the  construction  of  lines  which  do  not  present 
the  proper  conditions  of  solidity  or  of  guarantee  against 
accidents,  and  the  removal  or  replacement  of  supports,  wires, 
etc.,  that  may  in  any  way  be  detrimental  to  public  transit. 

8.  Before  beginning  construction,  and  in  order  that  the 
right  mentioned  in  the  preceding  paragraph  may  be  exer- 
cised, the  concessionaire  shall  send  to  the  Government  a 
plan  of  the  route  of  the  main  lines  which  shall  show  the 
terminal   or  intermediate  stations,  the  distance  from  all 
telegraph,  telephone,  or  electrical  transmission  lines  which 
may  be  in  the  vicinity  of  the  route,  as  well  as  the  railroads 
and  highways  followed  or  crossed.    The  concessionaire  shall 
also  submit  drawings  showing  the  type  of  line  to  be  con- 
structed, whether  aerial  or  underground,  supports,  crossarms, 
wires,  etc.,  together  with  information  regarding  the  material 
and  apparatus  to  be  employed  and  the  protective  devices 
employed  when  crossing  other  conductors  of  electricity  or 
in  crossing  railroads.     As  soon  as  construction  work  has 
been  finished  the  concessionaire  shall  furnish  the  Govern- 
ment with  exact  information  regarding  the  route  and  length 
of  lines  (branch  lines  being  listed  separately),  the  number  of 
terminal   and  intermediate  stations,   and  the  number   of 

77 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


public  and  subscribers'  stations.  For  the  same  purpose  as 
above  mentioned,  the  concessionaire  shall  give  due  notice 
in  advance  of  all  modifications  adopted  from  time  to  time 
with  reference  to  the  route,  character  of  line  and  means  of 
protection. 

9.  The  concessionaire  shall  observe  the  regulations  issued 
for  the  faithful  execution  of  law  No.  11  of  October  28,  1891, 
and  the  instructions  establishing  the  conditions  upon  which 
the  highways  may  be  used  and  other  instructions  issued  in 
the  interests  of  the  safety  of  transit,  both  on  the  highways 
and  on  the  railroads  which  the  telephone  line  may  follow  or 
cross,  and  for  the  protection  from  accident  of  the  telephone 
users. 

10.  For  intermunicipal  service  the  Government  may  re- 
quire that  there  be  used  at  least  two  complete  metallic 
circuits  for  calls  from  exchanges  and  public  stations.    The 
Government  may  also  require  the  use  of  underground  lines, 
or  of  overhead  lines  of  a  special  type,  in  sections  of  the  inter- 
municipal  line  where  conditions  demand  such  construction. 

11.  The  poles,  crossarms,  wires  and  accessories  of  the 
concessionaire's  line  shall  be  so  placed  as  not  to  interfere 
with  or  disturb  the  telegraph  and  telephone  lines  and  appara- 
tus already  in  operation.    It  is  also  his  duty  to  see  that  the 
apparatus  installed  by  him  shall  not  be  affected  by  existing 
electrical  conductors.     He  must  always  avoid,  as  far  as 
possible,  running  his  lines  parallel  with  others,  and  crossing 
other  lines,  such  crossings,  where  necessary,  being  made 
preferably  at  right  angles.    The  Government  may  require 
the  use  of  special  devices  for  protection  or  safety  incases 
involving  risk  of  accident. 

12.  The  Government  shall  require  other  concessionaires 
of  telephone  and  electric  power  transmission  lines,  to  make 
their  installations  in  such  manner  as  not  to  interfere  with  or 
disturb  the  operation  of  the  concessionaire's  lines. 

13.  The  concessionaire  shall  give  notice  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  date  of  commencing  the  operation  of  his  lines 
for  subscribers'  service,  exchange  and  public  stations,  and 
shall  attach  to  such  notice  a  copy  of  the  rates  to  be  charged. 

78 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


All  rates  shall  be  uniform  and  without  discrimination,  so 
that  any  reductions  shall  be  applicable  to  all  subscribers  in 
the  same  class.  Changes  in  the  rates  shall  always  be  brought 
to  the  attention  of  the  Government. 

14.  The  concessionaire  shall  keep  the  lines  and  all  ac- 
cessory apparatus  in  good  condition  so  as  to  guarantee  the 
continuity  and  regularity  of  service  at  all  points  where  tele- 
phone service  is  furnished.    The  subscribers'  contracts  shall 
contain  provisions  protecting  the  subscribers'  interests,  with 
statements  of  the  rebates  or  indemnities,  also  provisions  for 
cancellation  in  case  of  continued  interruption  of  service. 

15.  In  localities  reached  or  traversed  by  the  lines,  plac- 
ing such  localities  in  communication  with  one  or  more  points 
in  different  municipalities,  the  concessionaire  shall  establish 
exchanges  or  public  stations  to  which  all  subscribers'  lines 
shall  be  connected,  and  where  telephone  service  can  be 
furnished  to  non-subscribers.    Such  public  stations  may  be 
dispensed  with  by  special  act  of  the  Government  if  the  line 
connecting  two  points  in  different  municipalities  is  so  short 
that  the  subscribers'  lines  may  be  considered  as  being  con- 
nected with  the  exchange  or  city  system  existing  at  one  of 
the  terminals  of  the  line.    However,  establishment  of  such 
stations  shall  be  compulsory  when  city  systems  are  in  opera- 
tion at  both  terminals  of  the  line,  whether  connected  to  the 
intermunicipal  system  or  not. 

16.  At  public  pay  stations  for  intermunicipal  service  the 
concessionaire  shall  install  the  usual  devices  to  guarantee 
the  privacy  of  telephone  conversation.    Calls  shall  be  given 
precedence  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  requested.    The 
rates,  regulations,  time-tables,  etc.,  of  the  service  shall  be 
posted  in  these  stations. 

17.  The  recording  in  writing  and  the  distribution  of  tele- 
phone messages  shall  be  allowed  only  by  express  authoriza- 
tion of  the  Government  and  will  not  be  allowed  when  tele- 
graph service  is  available  or  is  established  between  the 
points  on  the  concessionaire's  line. 

18.  The  object  of  the  present  concession  is  telephone 
service.    If  the  concessionaire,  by  use  of  his  line  or  by  un- 

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authorized  delivery  of  telephone  messages  in  writing,  es- 
tablishes an  illegal  competition  with  the  Government  tele- 
graph service,  the  concession  shall  be  annulled  and  the 
Government  shall  take  steps,  if  necessary,  to  render  such 
annulment  effective. 

19.  For  reasons  of  a  public  nature  the  Government  may 
impose  limitations  on  the  telephone  service,  or  may  make 
exclusive  use  of  such  service,  in  consideration  of  an  indemnity 
fixed  by  mutual  agreement,  or  in  the  absence  of  such  agree- 
ment, awarded  by  arbitration,  as  provided  in  paragraph  23. 

20.  The  concessionaire  shall: 

a)  Give  preference  to  official  calls. 

b)  Surrender  its  lines  to  the  State  Government  in  con- 

sideration of  an  indemnity,  whenever  the  Govern- 
ment may  decide  that  expropriation  is  advisable, 
such  expropriation  to  be  carried  out  in  accordance 
with  the  law  then  in  force. 

21.  All  communications  which  the  concessionaire  may 
have  to  make  to  the  Government  shall  be  addressed  to  the 
Office  of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  Commerce  and  Public 
Works  of  the  State,  or  to  such  department  as  that  office  may 
designate,  and  all  official  communications  relating  to  the 
service  in  charge  of  the  concessionaire  shall  issue  from  such 

partment. 

22.  The  concessionaire,  or  any  party  acting  for  him,  shall 
inform  the  Government  of  all  alterations  which  may  be 
made  in  the  organization  of  the  undertaking  by  virture  of 
the  transfer  of  the  present  concession.    The  concessionaire 
shall  present  to  the  Government  within  the  first  two  months 
of  each  year  statistical  data  covering  the  preceding  year 
relating  to  the  length  of  lines,  number  of  telephones  in  the 
service  of  subscribers,  receipts  and  expenses,  and  new  con- 
struction and  betterments.    When  the  service  is  in  charge  of 
a  company  the  latter  must  furnish  to  the  Government  a  list 
of  the  officers  and  a  copy  of  the  report  to  the  stockholders. 

23.  Any  disagreements  which  may  arise  between  the 
Government  and  the  concessionaire  shall  be  settled  by  ar- 
bitration, in  the  following  manner:  each  of  the  parties  shall 

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appoint  one  arbiter;  if  these  two  do  not  agree,  a  third  arbiter 
shall  be  selected  by  the  two  parties,  and  if  they  cannot  agree 
each  party  shall  designate  one  person,  and  the  third  arbiter, 
selected  by  lots  between  these  two,  shall  decide  the  question. 

24.  If  the  system  is  in  operation  before  the  presentation 
to  the  Government  of  the  plan  of  the  main  line  and  the  other 
information  referred  to  in  the  first  and  second  parts  of 
paragraph  8,  the  Government  shall  fix  a  reasonable  time 
limit  for  such  presentation  and  may  impose  a  fine  in  case 
the  limit  is  exceeded. 

25.  The  State  courts  shall  have  exclusive  jurisdiction 
over  the  concessionaire. 

26.  For  non-observance  of  any  of  the  above  paragraphs 
the  concessionaire  shall  be  subject  to  a  fine  of  from  100 
milreis  ($33)  to  1,000  milreis  ($330). 

27.  The  concession  to  which  the  present  rules  refer  shall 
become  void  if  the  concessionaire  does  not  appear  at  the 
Office  of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  Commerce  and  Public 
Works,  to  sign  the  contract  within  60  days  from  the  date 
of  the  publication  of  this  decree. 

APPENDIX  IV 

State  of  Minas  Geraes 

Decree  No.  3961  of  July  19,  1913,  governing  the  concessions 
for  building  telephone  lines  connecting  the  municipali- 
ties of  the  State. 

Regulations 

Article  1.  In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the 
Federal  Constitution,  decree  1663  of  January  30,  1894,  and 
State  Law  No.  2  of  September  14,  1891,  No.  148  of  July  26, 
1895,  and  No.  596  of  September  19,  1912,  the  power  to 
grant  exclusive  privileges  for  the  construction  of  telephone 
lines  is  entrusted  to  the  State  and  Municipal  Governments, 
in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  present  Regulations. 

Article  2.  Concessions  granted  by  the  State  may  or  may 
not  involve  exclusive  privileges,  and  they  become  the  per- 

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petual  property  of  the  concessionaires.  Exclusive  privi- 
leges, however,  shall  not  be  granted  for  a  term  longer  than 
25  years,  and  shall  not  prevent  or  interfere  with  subsequent 
concessions  for  the  construction  of  other  lines  passing 
through  any  of  the  municipalities  covered  by  such  exclusive 
privileges  or  the  connection  of  such  municipalities  with 
other  lines  not  covered  in  the  original  exclusive  concession. 

Article  3.  Concessionaires  seeking  exclusive  privileges 
must  petition  the  Government  of  the  State  for  such  privi- 
leges, through  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  Industry,  Lands, 
Ways  and  Public  Works,  setting  forth  the  municipalities 
which  the  lines  shall  serve  or  cross,  the  length  of  the  lines, 
the  distance  from  other  lines  existing  in  the  same  district, 
the  probable  cost  of  construction,  and  any  other  information 
which  they  may  deem  it  desirable  to  present. 

Article  4.  When  concessions  have  been  granted  by  the 
issuance  of  a  decree,  the  concessionaire  shall  sign  the  re- 
spective contract,  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  Agricul- 
ture, within  the  period  of  90  days  from  the  date  of  said 
decree  under  penalty  of  the  cancellation  of  the  concession 
without  further  action  on  the  part  of  the  State  Government. 

Article  5.  Concessions  without  exclusive  privileges,  as 
well  as  permits  for  line  connections  only,  even  if  under 
exclusive  privileges,  shall  be  granted  by  act  of  the  Secretary 
of  Agriculture,  Industry,  Lands,  Ways  and  Public  Works. 
Such  concessions  shall  not  prevent  the  granting  of  exclusive 
privileges  for  other  lines  in  the  same  municipality.  The 
latter,  furthermore,  shall  enjoy  preference,  other  conditions 
being  the  same,  over  the  lines  having  non-exclusive  rights. 

Article  6.  No  concession  shall  be  transferred  before  the 
respective  line  is  built,  nor  without  previous  consent  of  the 
State  Government. 

Article  7.  No  concession  shall  be  granted  for  the  con- 
struction of  lines  to  connect  more  than  20  municipalities. 
In  the  case,  however,  of  a  line  already  built  and  in  regular 
operation,  even  though  it  connects  20  municipalities,  the 
concessionaire  shall  enjoy  preference  as  regards  the  con- 

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struction  of  extensions,  provided  the  limit  established  in 
this  article,  with  reference  to  concessions  for  such  extensions, 
is  not  violated. 

Article  8.  Every  concessionaire  of  telephone  lines  shall 
respect  and  observe  the  municipal  laws  within  the  limits  of 
each  municipality  in  which  the  lines  run. 

Article  9.  The  concessionaire  of  telephone  lines  shall 
give  preference  to  official  calls,  which  shall  be  free  of  charge. 
The  concessionaire  shall  also  give  up  his  line  or  lines  to  the 
Government  of  the  States,  whenever  the  latter  may  so 
desire,  in  consideration  of  an  indemnity  previously  agreed 
upon. 

Article  10.  Incoming  press  calls  shall  be  entitled  to  a  re- 
duction of  from  25%  to  50%  of  the  rate  schedule  approved 
by  the  Government. 

Article  11.  For  the  support  of  wires  for  the  erection  of 
poles  on  private  property,  the  concessionaire  shall  obtain 
the  necessary  consent  of  the  owners  of  such  property. 

If,  for  a  line  to  be  built  under  an  exclusive  concession, 
it  is  not  possible  to  obtain  such  consent,  even  in  considera- 
tion of  an  equitable  indemnity  by  the  concessionaire  of  the 
line,  the  Government  shall  grant  to  the  latter  the  right  of 
expropriation  in  the  interest  of  the  public  and  in  accordance 
with  the  existing  laws. 

Article  12.  The  State  Government  shall  always  have  the 
right  to  prevent  the  construction  of  lines  which  are  lacking 
in  solidity  and  protection  against  accidents.  The  Govern- 
ment may  also  require  the  removal  or  replacement  of  all 
such  supports,  wires,  etc.,  as  may  in  any  way  interfere  with 
public  traffic. 

a)  For  this  purpose,  the  Government  shall  also  have  the 
right  to  supervise  the  construction  of  the  lines 
through  an  employee  whose  compensation  shall  be 
paid  by  the  Government,  for  the  account  of  the 
concessionaire,  who  shall  pay  into  the  State  treasury 
in  advance,  and  also  quarterly,  the  amount  which 
shall  be  inserted  in  the  concession. 

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b)  Supervision  shall  begin  as  soon  as  construction  of  the 

line  is  commenced. 

c)  In  order  that  these  provisions  may  be  enforced,  the 

concessionaire  shall  submit  to  the  Government, 
before  beginning  actual  construction  work; 

1.  A  plan  of  the  route  of  the  lines,  showing  termi- 
nal and  intermediate  stations  and  the  position 
of   telegraph   lines,    other   telephone   lines,    or 
electric  power  lines  which  may  be  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  proposed  route,  as  well  as  the  distance  of 
all  such  lines  from  the  proposed  route.     The 
plan  shall  also  show  the  railroads  and  highways 
followed  or  crossed. 

2.  Drawings  showing  the  type  of  line  to  be  erected, 
whether  aerial  or  underground,  and  supports, 
crossarms,  wires,  etc. 

3.  Statement  of  the  material  and  apparatus  to  be 
employed,  and  of  the  protective  measures  to  be 
adopted  in  the  proximity  of,  or  in  crossing  other 
existing  electrical  conductors,  and  in  crossing 
railroad  tracks. 

Article  13.  The  line  having  been  built  before  service  can 
begin,  the  concessionaire  shall  submit  for  the  approval  of  the 
State  Government,  at  least  15  days  in  advance,  the  respective 
rate  schedules.  Any  change  in  rates  made  thereafter  shall 
also  be  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  State  Government. 
If  the  Government  has  not  approved  the  rate  schedules  or 
ordered  changes  within  15  days  after  presentation,  such 
schedules  shall  be  considered  approved,  and  the  concessionaire 
shall  be  free  to  commence  service. 

Article  14.  In  all  public  stations  there  shall  be  exhibited 
the  regulations,  rate  schedules,  and  time-tables  of  the  service, 
and  the  privacy  of  telephone  conversation  shall  be  assured. 

Article  15.  All  calls  shall  be  furnished  in  the  order  in 
which  they  have  been  submitted. 

Article  16.  For  non-observance  of  the  Government 
orders,  issued  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the 

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present  Regulations,  and  for  non-observance  of  the  latter, 
the  concessionaire  shall  be  fined  from  100  milreis  ($33)  to 
1,000  milreis  ($330),  according  to  the  gravity  of  the  vio- 
lation, such  fine  to  be  doubled  for  a  second  offense  or  in 
case  violation  continues  after  the  imposition  of  the  first 
fine. 

Article  17.  In  addition  to  the  provisions  of  Article  4, 
the  concession  shall  become  void: 

a)  If  the  fines,  in  accordance  with  the  preceding  article, 

are  not  paid,  and  the  fault  not  corrected,  within 
3  months  after  the  imposition  of  the  fine. 

b)  If  the  time  limits  established  for  beginning  the  work 

and  for  finishing  the  lines  are  exceeded,  without  an 
extension  having  been  granted  by  the  Government, 
or  if  the  construction  work  remains  interrupted 
during  90  consecutive  days,  without  justification. 

Article  18.  Before  signing  the  contract,  and  in  order  to 
guarantee  its  execution,  the  concessionaire  shall  deposit  in  the 
State  Treasury,  in  cash  or  in  Government  bonds,  the  sum  of 
500  milreis  ($165)  for  each  group  of  5  municipalities  in- 
cluded in  the  concession.  This  guarantee  shall  be  required 
even  when  a  smaller  number  of  municipalities  than  5  is  in- 
cluded in  a  concession,  and  shall  be  retained  until  the  ex- 
piration of  the  term  of  the  exclusive  privilege.  From  this 
guarantee  shall  be  deducted  the  fines  imposed  upon  the  con- 
cessionaire; after  such  deduction  the  guarantee  shall  be 
replaced  within  30  days  from  the  date  of  notifying  the  con- 
cessionaire by  the  proper  department. 

Article  19.  No  Municipal  Chamber  exercising  the  powers 
conferred  by  laws  No.  2  of  September  14, 1891,  and  No.  148  of 
July  26,  1895,  shall  grant  a  concession  for  the  construction 
of  telephone  lines  outside  the  limits  of  the  respective  munic- 
ipality. In  case  it  is  desired  to  establish  telephone  service 
between  two  or  more  municipalities,  the  agreement  of  the 
Chambers  affected  and  the  consent  of  the  State  Govern- 
ment shall  first  be  obtained. 

Article  20.  The  Court  which  shall  decide  all  questions, 

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HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


arising  from  concessions  for  extending  telephone  service  by 
the  Government,  shall  be  that  of  the  State  Capital. 

Article  21.  The  provisions  of  the  Regulations,  approved 
by  decree  No.  1018  of  March  30,  1897,  remain  in  force  as 
far  as  they  are  not  cancelled  by  the  present  Regulations. 

APPENDIX  V 
International  Agreements 

Telegraph  Convention  between  Brazil  and  Argentina 

On  June  15,  1899,  Brazil  signed  a  telegraph  traffic  con- 
vention with  Argentina,  by  which  Argentina  agreed  to 
furnish  a  special  international  wire  between  Buenos  Aires 
and  Paso  de  dos  Libres,  thence  across  the  Brazilian  frontier 
to  Uruguayana  (Brazil).  On  its  part,  Brazil  undertook  to 
provide  a  special  wire  between  Uruguayana  and  Porto  Alegre. 
As  compensation  for  the  transmission  of  international 
messages  the  Telegraph  Administrations  of  the  two  Re- 
publics adopted  the  subjoined  schedule,  the  debits  and 
credits  to  be  adjusted  monthly. 

A.  TELEGRAMS  FROM  BRAZIL  TO  ARGENTINA: 

The  Brazilian  Telegraph  Administration  will  credit  the 
Telegraph  Administration  of  Argentina  as  follows: 

a)  20  centimes  gold  per  word  for  an  ordinary  paid  tele- 

gram to  be  sent  over  the  lines  of  the  Argentine  State 
Telegraph  Administration. 

b)  40  centimes  gold  per  word  for  an  ordinary  paid  tele- 

gram to  be  sent  over  lines  other  than  those  of  the 
Argentine  State  Telegraph  Administration;  also 
messages  to  Paraguay  and  Bolivia. 

c)  In  addition  to  the  charge  made  for  transit  messages 

(to  be  determined  by  the  Berne  International 
Bureau),  an  extra  charge  is  made  for  telegrams 
destined  to  points  not  mentioned  under  a  and  b. 

d)  10  centimes  gold  per  word  for  press  telegrams  to  be 

sent  over  the  lines  of  the  Argentine  State  Telegraph 
Administration. 

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AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


e)  20  centimes  gold  per  word  for  press  telegrams  to  be 
sent  over  lines  other  than  those  of  the  Argentine 
State  Telegraph  Administration  and  to  Paraguay 
and  Bolivia. 

B.  TELEGRAMS  FROM  ARGENTINA  TO  BRAZIL: 

The  Argentine  Telegraph  Administration  will  credit  the 
Telegraph  Administration  of  Brazil  as  follows: 

a)  50  centimes  gold  per  word  for  a  telegram  to  points 
within  the  zone  designated  as  Southern  Brazil. 

b)  1  franc  50  centimes  per  word  for  a  telegram  to  points 

within  the  zone  designated  as  Northern  Brazil. 

c)  1  franc  gold  per  word  for  an  international  telegram 

which  passes  over  the  Brazilian  telegraph  lines  from 
one  frontier  to  the  other  (transit  messages). 

d)  25  centimes  gold  per  word  for  press  messages  sent  to 

any  point  reached  by  the  Brazilian  telegraph  lines. 


Telegraph  Convention  between  Brazil  and  Uruguay 

On  April  8,  1899,  Brazil  and  Uruguay  entered  into  an 
agreement  for  the  mutual  exchange  of  telegraph  messages 
by  connecting  the  Brazilian  frontier  telegraph  offices  at 
Quarahy  and  Livramento  with  the  nearest  offices  in  Uruguay, 
which  were  at  S.  Eugenio  and  Rivera.  The  main  features 
of  this  agreement  were: 

Article  3.  The  Brazilian  Telegraph  Administration  agrees 
that  for  traffic  purposes,  in  accordance  with  a  former  agree- 
ment which  the  Brazilian  Telegraph  Administration  entered 
into  with  a  private  telegraph  company  of  Uruguay  (Empreza 
do  Telegrapho  Oriental),  the  route  Livramento- Rivera  shall 
be  considered  the  "via  de  escolha,"  or  the  route  left  to  the 
choice  of  the  sender  of  the  message. 

Article  4.  If  for  any  reason  the  last  mentioned  agree- 
ment ceases  to  exist,  the  route  Livramento-Rivera  shall 
become  the  ordinary  route  for  all  continental  and  inter- 
national transit  messages  over  the  land  lines  of  Brazil  and 
Uruguay. 

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HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


Article  6.  If  after  one  year  traffic  over, the  line  Porto 
Alegre-Livramento-Montevideo  becomes  so  heavy  as  to 
cause  more  delay  in  transmission  than  would  result  over  the 
direct  line  via  Jaguarao,  the  Telegraph  Administration  of 
Uruguay  will  undertake  to  connect  Montevideo  with  Artigas 
by  two  special  wires  whose  electrical  resistance  shall  not 
exceed  7.5  ohms  per  kilometer. 

Article  7.  Assuming  that  the  conditions  stated  in  Ar- 
ticles 4,  5,  and  6  prevail,  the  Brazilian  Telegraph  Adminis- 
tration agrees  not  to  connect  any  of  its  telegraph  lines  with 
any  others  already  built,  or  to  be  built,  in  Uruguay,  so  that 
all  messages  passing  over  the  land  lines  of  Brazil,  destined 
for  Uruguay,  or  for  transit  through  the  latter  country,  and 
vice  versa,  shall  be  sent  via  Jaguarao- Artigas  or  Livramento- 
Rivera,  due  regard  to  be  had,  however,  to  the  route  of 
preference  indicated  by  the  sender  of  the  message. 

Article  9.  For  a  private  message  sent  over  the  route 
Livramento-Rivera,  the  route  of  choice  as  indicated  above, 
the  Telegraph  Administration  of  Uruguay  is  to  receive  the 
following  compensation: 

a)  40  centimes  gold  per  word  for  a  message  sent  to  any  of 

the  State  telegraph  offices  of  Uruguay. 

b)  The  same  amount,  plus  an  additional  charge,  due 

private  telegraph  companies,  for  a  message  directed 
to  a  point  in  the  interior  of  Uruguay,  not  reached 
by  any  State  telegraph  lines. 

c)  40  centimes  gold  per  word,  plus  any  additional  charge, 

due  to  other  lines,  for  a  telegram  passing  through 
Montevideo  to  Chile,  Peru,  and  other  South 
American  countries. 

d)  80  centimes  gold  per  word  for  a  telegram  sent  to 

Argentina,  Paraguay  and  Bolivia. 

Article  10.  If  the  conditions  mentioned  in  Article  4  exist, 
the  above  charges  shall  be  modified  as  follows: 

a)  25  centimes  gold  per  word  for  a  message  sent  to  any  of 
the  State  telegraph  offices. 

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b)  The  same  amount,  plus  any  additional  charge,  due 

private  telephone  companies,  for  a  message  directed 
to  a  point  in  the  interior  of  Uruguay,  not  reached 
by  any  of  the  State  telegraph  lines. 

c)  40  centimes  gold  per  word  for  a  telegram  sent  to 

Argentina,  Paraguay  and  Bolivia. 

d)  25  centimes  gold  per  word,  plus  any  additional  charge 

due  other  lines,  for  a  message  passing  through 
Montevideo  to  Chile,  Peru,  and  other  South 
American  countries. 

Article  11.  The  Brazilian  Telegraph  Administration  is 
to  receive  as  compensation  the  terminal  and  transit  charges 
stated  in  Schedule  B,  attached  to  the  International  Rules 
&  Regulations,  as  revised  in  Budapest,  i.  e. 

a)  50  centimes  gold  per  word  for  a  telegram  sent  to  the 

southern  zone  of  Brazil. 

b)  1  franc  50  centimes  gold  per  word  for  a  telegram  sent 

to  the  northern  zone  of  Brazil. 

c)  1  franc  gold  per  word  for  a  transit  telegram  that 

passes  over  the  Brazilian  lines. 

d)  1  franc  50  centimes  gold  per  word,  plus  the  charge 

due  to  that  company,  for  a  telegram  to  be  delivered 
to  any  of  the  telegraph  offices  of  the  Amazon 
Telegraph  Company. 

e)  For  messages  via  the  transatlantic  cables  which  touch 

at  Recife  or  at  Pinheiro,  destined  for  Central  or 
North  America,  the  charges  are  those  published  in 
the  Boletin  Telegraphico  of  the  Brazilian  Admin- 
istration (No.  21  of  November  15,  1898),  deducting 
from  the  total,  however,  the  amount  due  the  Tele- 
graph Administration  of  Uruguay. 

Article  20.  The  above  agreement  is  for  3  years  from  the 
date  of  the  opening  of  the  route  Livramento-Rivera,  but 
each  Administration  reserves  to  itself  the  right  to  propose 
modifications  during  the  last  3  months  of  the  duration  of 
this  agreement.  If  neither  changes  nor  cancellations  of  the 
intertraffic  agreement  are  proposed,  the  present  agreement 
shall  continue  automatically  for  another  period  of  3  years. 

89 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TELEPHONE 


Telegraph  Convention  between|Brazil  and  the  Telegrapho  Electrico 
de  Montevideo,  known  as  the  "Telegrapho  Oriental'* 

The  following  traffic  agreement  was  entered  into  be- 
tween the  above  mentioned  parties  on  August  3,  1899. 

Article  1.  The  "Telegrapho  Oriental"  agrees,  within 
6  months  from  the  signing  of  this  agreement,  to  put  its  line 
between  Jaguarao  and  Montevideo  in  such  working  condi- 
tion as  to  guarantee  a  rapid  international  service. 

Article  2.  The  "Telegrapho  Oriental"  promises  to  use 
all  proper  means  to  assure  a  rapid  service  between  Monte- 
video and  Buenos  Aires,  using  for  this  purpose  either  the 
line,  or  lines,  owned  by  the  company,  or  the  line,  or  lines,  of 
any  other  private  company  which  will  enable  the  company 
to  operate  a  telegraph  office  in  direct  connection  with  its 
central  office  in  Montevideo.  In  order  to  carry  out  this 
agreement  the  work  must  be  finished  within  a  year  from  the 
date  of  the  signing  of  the  agreement,  but  within  that  period 
the  company  may  use  the  State  telegraph  lines,  or  any  other 
lines,  which  in  the  judgment  of  the  company  may  be  most 
convenient  for  that  purpose. 

Article  3.  If  for  any  reason  the  company  has  failed  to 
finish  the  work  within  the  time  stipulated  in  Article  2,  the 
route  Livramento-Rivera  shall  become  the  normal  line  of 
transmission  for  continental  and  international  transit 
messages  over  the  Brazilian  land  lines  and  the  cables  con- 
necting with  the  latter. 

Article  4.  During  the  life  of  the  present  agreement  the 
Brazilian  Administration  agrees,  as  regards  the  exchange  of 
telegraph  messages,  not  to  connect  its  lines  with  those  of 
any  other  private  telegraph  company  within  the  territory  of 
Uruguay. 

Article  5.  The  Brazilian  Telegraph  Administration  agrees 
to  deliver  to  the  "Telegrapho  Oriental"  all  telegraph 
messages  passing  over  its  lines,  and  the  cables  connecting 
with  them,  destined  for  South  American  republics,  and 
declares  the  route  via  Jaguarao  to  be  the  route  of  normal 
and  rapid  transmission,  except  for  such  messages  as,  by  the 

90 


AND  TELEGRAPH  IN  BRAZIL 


sender's  orders,  shall  be  sent  over  a  different  route.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  "Telegrapho  Oriental"  promises  to 
route  over  the  Brazilian  lines  all  messages  received  from 
points  within  Brazil,  or  any  other  country  reached  by  the 
cables  connected  with  the  Brazilian  land  lines,  excepting 
such  messages  as  by  the  sender's  orders  shall  be  sent  over  a 
different  route. 

Article  6.  The  Brazilian  Telegraph  Administration  prom- 
ises to  prevent  other  companies  from  furnishing  service  at 
rates  lower  than  those  established  by  the  "Telegrapho 
Oriental." 

Article  9.  Beginning  with  the  date  of  the  signing  of  this 
agreement,  the  " Telegrapho  Oriental"  shall  receive  40 
centimes  gold  per  word  for  an  ordinary  private  telegram  and 
40  centimes  gold  per  word  for  the  same  class  of  messages 
from  Montevideo  to  Buenos  Aires.  The  Brazilian  Tele- 
graph Administration  shall  receive  50  centimes  gold  per 
word  for  all  messages  passing  over  its  lines  to  points  situ- 
ated within  the  southern  zone,  and  one  franc  gold  per  word 
for  all  messages  sent  to  points  within  its  northern  zone. 

Article  19.  The  present  agreement  shall  remain  in  force 
until  March  31,  1913,  but  it  may  be  modified  by  mutual 
consent  of  the  contracting  parties. 


91 


Sources  of  Information 

1.  "MEMORIA  HISTORIC  A,"  issued  in  Rio  de  Janeiro  in 
1909  by  the  Reparticao  Geral  dos  Telegraphos. 

2.  Relatorios,  or  annual  reports,  issued  by  the  Repar- 
ticao Geral  dos  Telegraphos  1880-1918. 

3.  "Histoire  de  la  Telephonic,"  by  Julian  Brault,  pub- 
lished in  Paris  in  1890. 

4.  "Annuario  Estatistico  do  Brazil,"  issued  in  Rio  de 
Janeiro  in  1917. 

5.  "Brazil  Ferro-Carril,"  of  October,   1921,  published 
in  Rio  de  Janeiro. 

6.  Annual  Reports  of  the  Rio  de  Janeiro  Tramway,  Light 
and  Power  Co.,  1907-1912. 

7.  Annual  Reports  of  the  Brazilian  Traction,  Light  and 
Power  Co.,  Ltd.,  1913-1920. 

8.  Annual  Reports  of  the  Companhia  Telephonica  Rio- 
Grandense,  1912-1920. 

10.  Charters  of 

a.  The  Tropical  American  Telephone  Company,  Ltd. 

b.  The  Continental  Telephone  Company. 

c.  The  Rio  de  Janeiro  Telephone  Company. 

11.  Information  received  from  American  Legations  and 
Consulates  in  Brazil. 

12.  Information  received  through  private  correspondence: 

a.  With  officials  of  the  Government  Telegraph. 

b.  With  officials  of  Telephone  Companies. 


92 


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